


When I was...

by TravelDustedShoes



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology, Hellenistic Religion & Lore
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Family Drama, No Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-08-11 03:30:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7874467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TravelDustedShoes/pseuds/TravelDustedShoes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Looking back Persephone recounts every meeting with Aidoneus, beginning from childhood to the present.  Each memory reveals a little bit more about the complicated family she had no say in being a part of, and traces the steps of how she managed to become the woman that she is - and not the woman her mother wanted her to be. (Modern AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When I was 7

**Author's Note:**

> Hello reader!
> 
> As you read my story you may notice a few things. 
> 
> First, this work is inspired by a mix of 100 Days of Night (a great online webcomic that has been sadly suspended) and Rachel Alexander's (KataChthonia) two books, Receiver of Many and Destroyer of Light. If you have not read the excerpts from those two books that are still on here then you need to do so right away. Then go buy the books, and snuggle up for a GREAT read. I've borrowed on the idea of using Aidoneus and its short form of Aidon for this story, and I'm riffing on her take of the Hades/Demeter relationship and all it's unnecessary acrimony. In my head, I picture Hades as he appears in 100 Days of Night. Hmm...delicious. 
> 
> Second, as a modern AU I'm taking liberties with ages and names. I'm striving to keep the names as they are, but a few are receiving modern upgrades. Demeter, Poseidon, Hera, and Kore are not names you'd find in even the most hippy dippy classroom. These will be receiving some adjustment. You'll notice the brief appearance of the others with names intact. I have come across these names on class registers from time to time, so I figured they were worth keeping in. Because I am writing them as humans I'm tweaking ages, birth order, and relationships. It's one thing to write them as deities with all the incest, but not so much as people. On that note, if incest and sexual abuse is a trigger I am doing my very best to keep this a clean read. 
> 
> If you enjoy what you read please feel free to comment. I love comments! Constructive criticism is always welcome, as my writing can always use improvement. 
> 
> Upwards and onwards!  
> TravelDustedShoes

When I was 7 my mother took me to New York. I wasn’t entirely sure why, until we met my father at the airport. 

I had never met my father in person to this point. He wrote letters, sent pictures, and called on birthdays but I never saw him. I suppose that might have explained my un-childlike hello and the fact that I shook his hand instead of running into the wide open embrace he offered. 

It unnerved him. 

Then he glared at my mother. 

The visit was awkward and tense. I liked my father well enough, but he seemed to be wanting to make some sudden and immediate connection. It was very hard for him to hide his disappointment that I was not as open. 

But it had only ever been mother and me. We two. Living in the middle Wyoming with nothing but wide fields and open skies. Horses, wheat, snow, and chinook winds. Our small house on a large farm - the Miller’s farm, with all sorts of animals. 

Three was all wrong. 

The last night we were there my father called in all of our ‘family’ for a dinner; actual family members, childhood friends of theirs who had become family, and the like. Mother was not pleased. She didn't want any part of it, and there was a huge argument about mother having abandoned everyone and never coming to visit. 

“They can come see us in Wyoming, if they wish.” Was her tart reply.  
“There’s nothing IN Wyoming except wheat and horses, Demi.” Was father’s rejoinder. 

I couldn’t understand why everyone was so curious about us. Ladies of all ages gathered around and insisted on poking and prodding me like Mr. Miller did with the cows.  
“Oh Demi she’s so sweet! Just like you were!”  
“There’s a little bit of 'big Z' in there too - that cherubic nose, it’s going to look so cute on her as she gets older.”  
“Look at that smile, pure Rhea in that one.” 

The men were no better.  
“Aren’t you just a cute little button!”  
“What a sweet little girl, and that smile - she’s going to be a little heartbreaker Demi.”

As everyone got a little too close for comfort, mother drew me in. Her arms wrapped around me and she held me tight. I had never met so many people at once, let alone having all of them take an interest in me. I was scared, mother sensed it, and I was so thankful for her protection. 

“Demi! Let the girl run around and play.” Father yelled from across the room. “She’s got siblings, let her meet them.” 

All eyes were on us again. I could see from their looks that they were very curious how mother would respond. She knelt down beside me and whispered in my ear, “Do you want to go play?”

I looked over and saw them all in a group. There were a couple of older girls and a boy -Athena, Apollo and Artemis- who looked friendly, but I was too young for them. Athena looked around 12, the other two around 10 or 11. There was a boy around my age, Ares, but all night he was running around out of control and he looked mean. Another, Hermes, was about 8 or 9, and while he seemed nice at first he had spent the whole evening finding ways to pull on my ponytail every chance he could get. It didn’t hurt, but it was very annoying. 

The oldest girl, Athena, walked over to us. “We’ll look after her Demi. It would give you a chance...to umm…” She looked over at my father and another lady who seemed very interested in wanting to talk to my mother. Alone. 

“Thank you Athena. I appreciate it. You can relax, I mean you no harm. Your mother was before us, and made her choices very clear.” Mother replied. She bent down again and spoke with a genuine smile. “This is Athena. She is your half sister. I knew her mother when I was a little girl, and we were good friends. You can trust her.”

Athena took my hand as I asked in wonder, “Half sister?”

She nodded. “My mother was with our father before.”

“Did father leave you too?” 

Athena looked at me funny before she shook her head. “No. We left him.” 

“And where do you two live?”

“I live here in New York, with father.”

I was very confused. She shrugged as we made our way over to the others. “My mom died when I was your age. Father took me in.”

Athena made the introductions. All of these kids were my half-siblings; Ares being the only one of the group who belonged to my father and his wife. It was hard to make sense of the situation; I thought that boys and girls grew up, fell in love, got married and stayed together. That’s what Mrs. Miller told me…and I said as much.

“That’s how it’s supposed to happen.” Artemis replied with a sour look on her face. “But our father isn’t like other men. I’ve already decided I’m never going to get married. All boys are the same, and they aren’t worth it.”

I played with Ares and Hermes for a bit until it got too rough. Ares liked to hit when he didn’t get his own way, and Hermes played mean tricks and said very nasty things about my mother. It wasn’t Athena’s fault that I slipped out from her watch - she had to use the washroom and left Artemis and Apollo in charge. The twins couldn’t stop bickering for longer than a minute to pay attention to anything. With Ares chanting “cry baby cry baby”, I ran. 

Father had a rather large house with a huge backyard. It wasn’t nearly as big as our farm, but I ran for a good long time until I couldn’t hear the boys taunting me. I found a spot underneath a large tree and started to cry. 

“Why so sad little one?” The voice was very deep, and very quiet. I should have been scared, because mother warned me about strangers, but all my tiny little heart wanted to do was cry. 

“Ares and Hermes are making fun of me and momma, and Apollo and Artemis are too busy fighting to notice, and father and momma have been angry all week and they do nothing but fight, and I just wanna go ho-home.” I was in a full cry by the end, hiccups and all. “Who-who are you? Are you going to poke me and tell me I’m pretty too?”

“I’m going to do no such thing little one.” The gentle voice said. “I don't poke at small children. You are very pretty, but it’s easier to just say those things and be done with it, is it not?”

“I-I guess. Th-thank you for not poking me. Or pinching my cheek.”

“You’re very welcome.”

“Where are you? I can’t see you.”

“I’m on the other side of the tree.” The voice said. 

I had stopped crying, and could manage to speak clearly after a bit of a sniffle. “Can I sit with you?”

There was a pause before he answered. “Alright.”

When I came around the tree I saw a man sitting back against the trunk. He had very long legs that were sticking straight out, a book across his lap, and glasses on his face. His hair was either a dark brown or black (I couldn’t tell because it was dark out), and his eyes were a funny shade of blue. Not dark blue, like sapphires, or sky blue - but almost purple. 

“Who are you?” I asked plainly. 

“My name is Aidoneus. But everyone calls me Aidon.”

“Are you another of my father’s kids?”

Aidon laughed. It was a rumbly and warm sound. “No! Not at all. I’m...I’m like a brother to him. I guess.”

“You guess? You either are or aren’t.” 

“Very true. I forget that small children think in black and white.” There was a pause before he continued. “My older brother is Percy. Do you know who Percy is?”

“Yes. He grew up with father. Momma says they are really close friends who treat each other like brothers.” 

“Good. That is exactly it. Percy is my actual brother. Poseidon is his name - but he prefers to use Percy.”

“But you don’t look as old as father and Percy do.”

“I’m not. I’m quite a bit younger. Your father regards me like a baby brother.”

“Because…” I was struggling to understand “...you’re Percy’s actual brother?”

“Yes.” 

“Father makes family very confusing.”

Aidon chuckled. “Yes, he sure does.”

“Well”, I remembered my manners and reached over with my tiny hand “nice to meet you Aidon. Father’s brother who is not a brother.” 

Aidon gently returned the handshake. “Please to meet you Persephone.”

I didn’t even think of it until he said it. “Hey! I never told you my name. And my name is not Persephone, it’s Cora!” But something was introduced to my brain. The feeling that Persephone, as a name, was _right_. 

The look Aidon gave me was strange. “Ah. I forgot that argument. Never thought that she’d-”

“Never thought she’d what?” I interrupted. 

“I never thought that your mother would take the fight that far.”

“What fight?”

“One of many.”

“Momma and father do fight a lot.” It saddened me then, it saddens me now. 

“Yes they do. I’m sorry you have to see it.”

“Can we talk about something different?” Talking about my parents made me uncomfortable as a child. Most of my classmates had families that were together. I saw mothers and fathers with their families looking happy and loved at church, at school, and in my activities. My parents couldn’t even talk on the phone longer than ten minutes without having a fight. Still can’t. 

“Absolutely little one. What would you like to talk about?”

My attention went back to the book that was on his lap. “I like books. What are you reading?”

I lost track of time under the tree with Aidon. He tried explaining his book to me, but existential philosophy isn’t something you explain easily even to the brightest of 7 year olds. He asked me about living in Wyoming, and what my favourite things were. I rambled on like any child who had the undivided attention of an adult; my riding lessons, the best places to play, the role I had in the christmas pagent, what 2nd grade was like, my friends and the things we did. He spoke a little bit, mainly about things he liked to eat (when the topic was food), where he lived (Louisiana) and things he did there, and what he did for a work (he didn’t - he was in law school and wasn’t done yet). Sitting there talking with him felt as easy as breathing. It wasn’t until I heard my mother that I suspected anything was wrong.

“Cora! CORA! Where are you?!!” Her voice sounded frantic.  
“Cora! Cora, are you there?!” Father was with her. 

“She’s here Demetria.” Aidon said as he stood up. He was very tall. Too tall almost, and my eyes grew wide as we reached down to help me up. “She’s safe.”

Mother ran and scooped me up. “Dear god you gave me a scare child. Don’t you EVER DO THAT AGAIN!” She was relieved, but angry. 

“Demi, leave the poor girl alone-” Father began, but was quickly interrupted.

“What do you know of it? You let your children run wild and-” Mother would have continued, if Aidon hadn’t cleared his voice. 

“*Ahem*. Perhaps you could discuss this later. It’s quite late, and I’m sure it’s past Per-Cora’s bedtime.”

Mother glared at him. “She does NOT know that name. NEVER use it.”

There was a tense moment between all three adults. It would take me years to find out the root of that animosity. 

“Apologies.” Aidon finally spoke. “I never intended to offend. Cora ran out here after the boys were rough-housing too much. She found the tree and I happened to be there. We’ve been having a nice little conversation.” He smiled at me and I smiled back. 

Mother drew me very close, and the look on her face was one of fear. “Thank you for that Aidon, but you have done quite enough. Zeus,” she turned to my father, “I wish to go back to the hotel now. Our flight leaves quite early.”

As we walked back to the house, I turned and saw that Aidon remained in the yard. I gave him a little wave, and he smiled and waved back.


	2. When I was 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone learns a little bit about how complicated her family is, and how her mother's emotions can run hot and cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Necessary plot plodding.

When I was 12 my eyes were opened to some hard truths about my family. 

Mother was not keen to answer my questions, but thankfully those around her gently cajoled her into talking about it a bit more. Mother was always an open book in regards to her emotions; expressing them openly is a vital part of her makeup, but the causes of them were the secrets she loathed to acknowledge. As I grew older and made my feelings known, discussing family became an inevitability. 

Without going into unnecessary detail, my parents grew up in a tight knit working class community in New York - the kind where your neighbours were as likely to be cousins as not. Percy, Aidon and their raft of sisters grew up next door to father. Mother and her two older sisters, Helena and Hestia were a few doors down. Everything was fine, until the older ones had finished college. 

My father had large ambitions and large appetites. Beginning in high school and throughout college he had worked his way through almost every girl in the neighbourhood, and each one had dreams of being the one who would reform him and settle down. Marry he did, but reformation never happened. 

So it began; Metisse got pregnant first, with Athena. She was more of a ‘free spirit’ as mother said, so that first child didn’t tie my father down. Metisse was happy to accept his support, but was also just as happy to walk away. She took Athena to live in Pennsylvania for a time, until Metisse died of cancer. The next to have kids was Leita. That was a one night stand gone horribly, horribly wrong. She’s Apollo and Artemis’ mother. Leita and father thought they would take a crack at domestic felicity, and that lasted about as long as it took for my father to get Maia pregnant with Hermes. Maia was similar to Metisse in nature, but not as grounded in reality. The stress of trying to raise Hermes, let alone be around father, was enough to do her in. She surrendered custody of Hermes, and while she visits everyone from time to time she lives somewhere in Florida. “Painting and living off Zeus’ charity” as mother says. While the histories of my half-siblings are enough to make your head spin as it is, the kicker is that Metisse, Leita, and Maia are all sisters. Specifically, Percy and Aidon’s sisters. 

Yeah. 

With the remaining two sisters a little too young for my father’s taste, he turned his attention to my mother. I’m not entirely sure I can relate this tale in the way it needs to be told. When mother finally got around to telling me how father came into her life, between the crying and cups to tea to calm her nerves, it took a full day. 

It started when Maia surrendered Hermes. Father was left with a very small infant in his care, and needed someone to look after it. In came my mother. She had chosen not to go to university like her older sisters, but instead take an early childhood education course at home. Mother was a perfect solution to his problem. So, at the young age of 20, she took it upon herself to become Hermes’ nanny. The curious thing about my father is that for someone who cannot conform to domesticity he can certainly fall into it very quickly. Especially if the other person more than reciprocates his desires. And mother was not lacking in that department. She had been secretly in love with my father since she was a little girl. It didn’t take long for their relationship to go from professional to personal. People were stunned when father not only started dating mother, but _actively stopped seeing other women as well_. It was a world of domestic bliss. There was even an engagement ring. Mother got pregnant and rather than concern, then resignation, father was thrilled and overjoyed. Names were picked, furniture was bought, and everyone expected a ceremony after mother had lost a little baby weight. 

Then Helena came home. 

My aunt Helena could best be described as the ugly duckling who turned into a swan. Awkward, clumsy, a tad bookish and not at all invested in her appearance Helena had taken a scholarship to Wellesley college to major in Economics; then took two years to do a masters at the London School of Economics. When she returned it was in the guise of a sleek, polished, and articulate young woman who was highly educated and highly valuable to any company. 

Namely, my father’s startup venture capital company. 

It didn’t take long for Helena to supplant my mother in father’s affections. The beauty was one thing, but the wit, intelligence, and sophistication was another. The one area where mother was lacking. 

By the time I was three months old, father called off the engagement. Heartbroken, mother received an offer to visit Metisse. While she was there, she learnt that father - not one to waste an opportunity - had not only proposed to Helena but married her shortly thereafter. Within in a couple more weeks it was announced that she was pregnant. 

Mother would not talk about the time spent with Metisse. It would take a few more years to get that story out. 

Mother’s anger had turned her cold. Where she was once described as warm and giving, even her family had to admit that something had been lost when my father did what he did. There was an attempt, mother admitted, to reconcile everyone. Helena wanted to heal the wounds - they were sisters first after all - but more damage was done at that meeting than good. Whatever was said, it forever put a wedge between them. Whatever was said, it terrified my mother enough that she chose to run. 

Metisse, always the most sympathetic out of her friends, was the one who knew the Miller's. She had done some work for them before they moved to Wyoming to take up mixed farming. Metisse arranged for us to travel, and vouched for my mother as a hard worker and dependable person. 

“It was a big ask.” Mother said very quietly into her cup of tea. “She knew that whatever goodwill your father had towards her could very well vanish.”

“What happened mom? What happened that was so horrible you felt you had to run?”

Mother stared blankly into her cup, her eyes awash with unspeakable emotions. “I can’t. I don’t have the strength for it tonight.”

Father pursued us relentlessly. Not in the physical sense, but in the legal sense. He tried to have mother charged with kidnapping, but thankfully that didn’t stick. The Miller’s helped her get access to a decent lawyer. An agreement was struck. We could stay out here, as long as father had unfettered access to me.   
“He would never visit, thankfully. Wyoming was ‘too far’ or ‘too boring’. I could handle that. I could handle talking on the phone, sending pictures, letting you talk to him.” Mother said. 

“Going back to New York must have been really hard for you mom.”

“You have no idea Cora. But the judge ordered it. Said I was being unreasonable, and you were at a perfectly good age to travel. I wouldn’t let you travel alone though. So he had to pay for both of us to go.” Mother smirked at the thought. 

My thoughts drifted back to our week in New York. The whole episode hadn’t gone according to father’s plan. I was supposed to be his darling daughter and fall into his arms, never wanting to leave. Instead I had been aloof and distant. He blamed mother for not allowing me to visit more. Mother blamed him for expecting so much after “putting in so little”. The only positive out of that mess was meeting Aidon. 

I didn’t hold on to much from that trip, but I held on to that. Sometimes when speaking to my father on the phone, or writing an email I would ask about him. All I knew was that he was still in Louisiana, working for the district attorney's office of East Baton Rouge with sights set on becoming a judge. 

Thinking of Aidon reminded me of the fear on mother’s face when he mentioned we had been talking behind the tree. “Mother?”

“Yes love.”

“Why are you afraid of Aidon?”

She had started to take a sip of her tea, but stopped the cup at her lip. “Nothing you’d understand.”

The way she treated me like I was still a little child was infuriating. “Mom, I’m 12! I think I can understand perfectly fine if you expl-”

“NOTHING YOU’D UNDERSTAND CORA!! You’re young, and innocent, and you’re going to remain that way if I can help it. Aidon is a horrible influence on everyone around him and you’d do your best to forget that you EVER met him. Do I make myself clear?” 

Mother was an open book with her emotions. In that moment, the pages were on fire.


	3. When I was 15, pt1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone travels to New York on her own to try and understand the man that is her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More plot, but necessary plot. Bear with me. And the rating gets an upgrade because of language, and because of a couple of scenes I have written that are several chapters down the line. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

When I was 15 I received a summons. 

It wasn’t an official summons, but it arrived in an exceptionally official envelope requiring my signature before it could be delivered. Mother was not pleased about that. Mail had never been an issue (all I got was 4H info and horse magazines), until the previous month. That’s when the letters started coming. 

I knew what they were; plane tickets to New York. Well, more specifically a single ticket. They always arrived registered mail, and mother was always very quick to pick them up. “You are not going, and whatever comes to this house comes to me! And that’s final!” she said after one particularly exhaustive argument where I made a very teenage stand about the legalities of opening another person’s mail.

I need to note that it is still very illegal to open another person’s mail without their knowledge or express permission. And in fits of pique when I am exasperated with my mother I will bring this incident up. It continues to gnaw at her; sending her into a quiet little rage and I can get a few moments of peace to do my work.

The last letter was delivered by a courier company, and the instructions given to the courier were very specific; I was to sign, and he was to witness me opening the letter myself. Unlike the other letters this one was thicker and contained several documents. As I opened it I heard my mother breathe in sharply. The documents were a ruling from a district judge. At that time I had a vague idea what they were about; if I was not permitted to fly to New York there would be hearing and the custody agreement would be changed. Mother would be held in contempt, and it was very possible that I would be removed and placed in my father’s care. 

I was not particularly fond of that idea. 

“Mom, just let me go. I don’t have to play nice, I just have to go. See, right here - for two weeks.” I showed my mother the portion of the ruling that stated my father was allowed unrestricted access for a minimum of two weeks. 

“This is completely unfair! He knows damn well that he can come out here ANYTIME HE WANTS, but NO he has to have everything his precious fucking way!” Mom was starting to scream and the courier was starting to feel uncomfortable. 

I shrugged in acknowledgement of how awkward the whole thing was and thanked the courier for coming. He left in a hurry, and as I closed the door I prepared myself for the blowout. When I reflect back on how I approached it, I think I could have chosen my words more wisely. But since when do you associate fifteen year olds and wisdom?

“He doesn’t come out here because he doesn’t want to see you mom. You’re a little bit of a harpy with him.” 

Mother froze. “I’m what?” Her voice was dead calm. I should have recognized danger, but I foolishly pressed on.

“Well, admit it mom - you can barely hold a civilized conversation on the phone with him how on earth would you survive two weeks of him out here? I can understand where he might be coming from, you know?”

“No I don’t know Cora. Please, elaborate for me where your father is coming from?” Mother was seething beneath the surface, and now I began to see where I was going wrong. 

“Well, umm...you know…” I stumbled, hoping to find a quick exit but no such luck. 

“You think I’m a harpy? That I am unfair to your father? That I make life difficult?!” Mom was reaching pitch, “How many times have I told you about how he operates? How he treats women, how he treats his own children? Where do you think we’d be if I had stayed in New York, huh? Do you think we’d be this happy, this safe? Do you think you’d be able to have a normal childhood, to run free and be innocent? I did what I did to protect you from him and now you want me to just stand here and let you waltz back into his life?! He doesn’t deserve you Cora. He doesn’t deserve one lick of your love and affection.” What mother began in a blind rage soon dulled into a tempest of weeping. 

I have no idea what inspired me to do what I did next. For a long time I said nothing. I hadn’t seen a rage like that in a long time and I was stunned. Mother sat down on our sofa, still in tears, and I very slowly sat down beside her as I worked on what needed to be said. To this day I believe divine providence had a hand in what came out of my mouth, because there is no other way to explain it. 

“I know he doesn’t.” I began tentatively. “If he was a better man he would put it all aside and come visit. But he won’t, and he has the law and money on his side. It sucks, but mom if I don’t go, well...I don’t even want to imagine what he’ll do. I’m not waltzing back into his life. He hasn’t even given me a reason to be a part of it. And don’t you think it’s time he heard that from me, directly? You’ve done a lot to keep me from the worst of it; I’ve had a much more normal childhood than say Athena or the twins, let alone Hermes and Ares. But there are things I need to see for myself and do on my own. I promise I’ll call every night, and if it all goes horribly wrong I’ll make father send me home. When I get home maybe we can get a hold of Mr. Sapieha - I’ll be sixteen next spring and surely I can have some say in what goes on?” I worked on remaining calm. It would take mother time to let my words register. 

Slowly she began to nod. “You’re right.” She pulled me in for a fierce hug. “When did you get to be such a smart girl?”  
“Oh I don’t know.” I teased. “I managed to have a little help along the way. Good teachers are a bonus too.”

We laughed, and I released a bit of the tension that had seized my body. Mother began to make a list of things I would need to travel. With a tightness in her jaw she asked if I would email my father to let him know I accepted his offer, but no more than the allotted two weeks. I nodded that I would, reminding her that my riding camp was the week after so there was no possible way I could stay even if he asked. 

On the day I was to leave mother was fairly relaxed until it was time for me to clear security. Her embrace was fierce, and nearly took the wind out of me. When she pulled back her eyes were wide, earnest and full of fear. “Your father has the gift of making people love him. Percy, Aidon, Metisse, Leita, Maia, myself, and your aunt have all succumbed. He cultivates feelings of loyalty and trust, and often you are in too deep before you realize he loves no one other than himself. I’m not saying this to sway your opinion Cora, I’m saying this to warn you. He is going to do and say everything right. He is going to place himself at your feet begging forgiveness and how he wants to make amends - to be a better father. I’m trusting you to see past that. I’m trusting you to see through his lies. I don’t doubt that he loves you, but more as an extension of himself than as a person. Be wary, be on your guard.”

I nodded, processing this very frank and open moment as quickly as I could. 

Arrival in New York was different than the last time. First, father was not there personally to meet me. Instead I was greeted by a chauffeur (suit and all) with a sign reading “P.C. Kelly”. As it turned out he was my father’s personal driver. He made apologies, but there was a meeting my father couldn’t get out of. Not the best way to start a ‘reconciliation’ if I may say so myself. Secondly, we were not going to the house I remembered. He had just purchased a much larger one in the Hamptons, and after this supposed meeting he was taking two weeks off to spend with family and ‘christen’ his new home. 

The house was massive. Beyond massive. I think I had seen something like it in a movie, and I said as much when I arrived. The driver mentioned that it had been used in a movie some months before father purchased it. Then he rattled off the specifics, and I tuned out somewhere between 10 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. Curiously though we were not heading into the house, but rather around the side. “Are...are we not going into the house?”

“Oh no,” the driver said, “we’re going to the guest house.”

“Guest house?”

“Yes. Mr. Szabados has constructed a guest house, mainly for the kids. His idea being that you would all prefer to be away from the ‘boring adults’” he chuckled at his own joke. I found it rather lame, to be honest. 

The guest house was about the size of father’s old house in Long Island proper. It too had several bedrooms, but I was assured that they were of a “normal size, and spacious enough for a teenager.” The driver helped me up the stairs with my luggage and left me in front of a door with ‘Persephone Cora’ written on a sign that had been purposely made shabby looking. “This is you.” He said, then left without further explanation to go and retrieve my father, I could only assume. 

I open the door expecting to find a bed with some simple furnishings and maybe a comforter - a quilt if I was lucky. Instead I opened the door to find a room entirely decked out in what I could best describe as ‘country chic’. The quilt on the bed was a Missouri Star pattern in blues, greys, and reds. A ‘Home Sweet Home’ was painted on weathered barn boards above the bed. The desk looked like it was made from Colorado pine, and the walls were full of paintings and photographs of western life. There was a copy of an Ansel Adams just above the desk - or rather I hoped it was a copy. I shuddered to think of the expense if it had been an original. There were pictures of me everywhere; barrel racing, pole bending, 5th grade spelling bee, and the most recent one of me winning the award for 9th grade debate. These were all things I had forwarded on in emails to my father, but I never thought he was paying attention. 

“A little overwhelming, isn’t it?”

I was spooked by the voice then turned around. It was Athena. I had last seen her a couple of years back when she came out to visit before heading to university. She had chosen Stanford “more or less to piss off dad. He really wanted me to pick Yale.” Athena had loaded up a car with all her stuff and planned a big road trip, and we were a stop along the way. It had been a decent visit; mother spent a lot of time reminiscing with her about Metisse - which Athena enjoyed immensely, and I spent time teaching her how to ride. 

“Just a bit? Did he come up with his?” I asked, astounded by the room.

“It was his idea, and he asked the interior designer to make it work. His exact words were,” and here Athena puffed herself up in imitation, “‘I’ve got this kid who lives out west. Wyoming. Make this place feel like Wyoming.’ The pictures were his touch though. He’s got them all you know.”

Her face softened a bit, but I didn’t respond. Mother’s words were still fresh in my mind. 

“All of us. Everything we’ve ever done; Apollo’s music, Ares’ martial arts, Artemis’ archery, Hermes’ cross-country running, all the academics, you name it he’s got it. The pictures you send of all your barrel racing awards are framed and on the wall in his office.”

“Is that supposed to mean something?” It came out very cynical and jaded. 

Athena sighed. “You know, not everything your mother says is gospel truth Cora. She’s playing games too.”

“My mom is not playing games.” I retorted. 

“Of course she is. Everything she has ever said and done in your life has been to turn you against father. He’s not a perfect human being, but neither has he tried to be. We all know him to be a bit of a narcissist, and lord knows he can’t keep his hands to himself, but you come to understand that is a part of who he is. There's good stuff too. Do you know who your mother is Cora, or is she still perfect and right in your eyes?”

My eyes were brimming with tears. “I didn’t come here to have everyone light into mom like she’s some miserable ogre hiding me in the sticks. I came here because the law made me, and lord knows what father would have done if I hadn’t shown up.”

“I would have done nothing. As long as _you_ made that clear, not your mother.”

Athena and I spun around as quickly as we heard the voice. Father was standing in the doorway with disappointment clearly written on his face. He nodded for Athena to leave, and as she was going he clasped her shoulder. “That was poorly done. There is a time and a place for everything.” Athena barely nodded and left. “May I come in?”

“It’s your house.” I shrugged and sat down on the bed.

“It’s your room. It will be yours for as long as you want it.” He sat down beside me. It was an unfamiliar feeling, his weight being considerably more than mother’s, and it made me uncomfortable. Sensing that he shifted over so I wouldn’t feel his presence so much. “If you didn’t want to be here, you could have said no.”

“I don’t believe you.” I refused to look at him. I felt that if I looked him in the eye my resolve would crumble. 

Father sighed. “All I wanted was for you to write, not your mother. You’re old enough to manage your own affairs - to an extent. If you had declined, that would be that. But when the letters started coming back I knew your mother wasn’t letting you have a say, and that’s not fair at all.”

I had to agree with him there. 

“I’ve heard it all you know. I’m a cheat. A liar. That I broke her heart irrevocably, and I’m an asshole for marrying her sister. I’ve heard it from family. From friends. People I respect. People I don’t respect. And I don’t deny it. I treated your mother terribly.”

This caught my attention. “Then why did you do it? Why did you leave us?” I expected him to have an immediate, polished answer. Something prepared, and suitably contrite. 

“I don’t know Persephone. I just knew that your mother and I were never going to work. I loved her dearly, and a part of me still does, but it wouldn’t have worked. I wish your mother would finally realize that too.”

The last part should have bothered me, but it didn’t because I _felt_ its truth. “Mom doesn’t let go of things easily.” 

“Truer words have never been spoken kiddo.”

“Hey wait. Why does everyone insist on calling me Persephone?” It had been on the placard, the plane ticket, and on my door. 

Father looked very puzzled. “She’s never told you?”

I looked up, confusion clearly apparent on my face as I shook my head. 

Father rolled his eyes. “When you were about to be born my mother was dying. Cancer. I was taking it pretty hard, and was willing to give her everything within my ability to give. Your grandmother got no say in the names of your siblings, and it irked her to no end. So she made me swear that I would name you Persephone. She had had a dream, and in it was a little girl who looked like my older sister-”

“You don’t have a sister.” I interjected. 

“I had a sister. She died when I was a baby. And it’s rude to interrupt.” He continued, “Anyway, this little girl who looked like my sister went up to my mother and said her name was Persephone. Mother woke up from that dream insisting that she dreamed of you, and you had to be named Persephone.”

“I take it mom didn’t like it?” 

“Your mother was furious. Despised the name. You were supposed to be Cora Marie, in honour of her grandmothers. My mother and yours never truly got along. Demi felt she was very controlling, and your grandmother felt that Demi was beneath me.”

I sat there silently processing the information. Father took the silence as an opening to continue. “The argument came to a head one evening visiting your grandmother. Quite a few of us were there - your mother, Percy, Aidon, Helena, Hestia, and the kids. Everything was boiling over, and it was Aidon who suggested the compromise. Persephone Cora Marie, but we’d use Cora for everyday. Secretly though, we all call you Persephone.”

I jumped a little bit when father mentioned Aidon’s name. He noticed and glanced at me with a curious side-eye. “He’s coming you know. They all are. Percy and Ami with their kids. Aidon, and his girlfriend Luce. Athena’s here, Ares and Hermes arrive tomorrow, and the twins should land on Saturday. Then we’ll christen these digs with a great big 4th of July party with all my friends and associates.”

My heart fell a bit when I heard Aidon had a girlfriend, but I couldn’t explain why. I mean, he was dad’s friend - like an uncle in a way - and he was years and years older than me. I had only met him once, and suddenly I had this strange claim over him? It was so odd, but I couldn’t properly explain it, even to myself. 

I still hadn’t said anything, so father got up to leave. “I’ll let you get unpacked. Remember Per-sorry -Cora, you can leave anytime you want. If you’re not comfortable, just say the words and we’ll have you home.”

I mustered the will to speak as he was at my door. “Do I look like her?”

“Huh?” 

“Your sister. Do I look like her?”

Father nodded. “She was four years old when she died, but when you were four you were the spitting image of her picture. Right down to the natural ringlets in your hair. The only difference is the eyes - hers were blue like mine. Yours are more hazel."


	4. When I was 15 pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had to split this section into three chapters or it would have been too long. Part 3 is coming soon :)
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you'll keep reading. I enjoy a good romp as much as everyone else, but I also enjoy the slow build and hope you do too.

I was surprised by the amount of time father wanted to spend with me. I assumed that after my reticent behaviour the last time I was in New York he wouldn’t be taking an interest. We took a few walks along the beachfront, and he asked genuine questions about my photography. I noted that he must actually be reading my emails, because of the Ansel Adams copy in my room - and my interest in landscape photography and various print methods. It was here that I got my answer; the Adams was _not_ a copy, but an original. “My gift to you. It can stay here in New York if you wish, or I can have it sent to you in Wyoming.”

I wasn’t sure how to thank him. A hug seemed rather out of place, since we did not have that kind of relationship. I tried in the best way possible to convey my thanks. His smile didn’t seem forced, so I took it as a sign that we were heading in a good direction. The next day, I mustered the courage to ask a few questions. 

“I’m a little confused; if you like the landscape so much why have you never come to visit? I mean - Yellowstone is just a couple of hours away.”

“I’m not well suited to it.” 

“Huh?” He wasn’t making any dents in my confusion.

“Stillness. Camping. Being one with nature. It’s not for me. I love the beauty of those landscapes, but without the hustle of bustle of New York I’d be lost. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”

I laughed. “Easy. You don’t go camping. Book into a hotel, take a couple of day hikes, then sit in a bar somewhere swilling back budweiser. It’s what all the locals do.”

That got a chuckle. “Somehow I don’t think I’d fit in as a local, so much.”

Looking up and down at his Ralph Lauren weekender aesthetic I had to agree he’d stick out like a sore thumb. 

There was period of silence, and father’s face went still. I slowly realized that there was more, and I could wager a guess. “That’s not the only reason, is it?”

“No. And I think you know what it is.” His voice was bitter. 

I sighed, and gave a little nod. “Mother. I suppose it’d be hard to visit. Not like we’d get to go off and do stuff without her.”

“You don’t know how many times I bought tickets. I’d gather up the courage to come, bring Athena or the twins with me. Come see you race. A couple of years ago I even got as close as booking the hotel rooms and everything. I’d fly out and meet Athena and we’d drive up to see you.”

My heart wanted so much to believe this. To believe he was telling me the truth, but mother’s warning still resounded. “What happened?”

“That email you sent. About the...argument you had had with your mother.”

Ah. That. Some of my friends were going camping at Yellowstone, and it was going to be ‘partially supervised’ - as in one or two parents making sure we didn’t kill ourselves. Otherwise we were going to be left to our own devices, as it were. I desperately wanted to go. The end result was that I absolutely did not get to go, and I had to spend the rest of my summer negotiating with my mother NOT to be sent to a private Catholic school in Colorado. Being reminded of that summer was painful. I lost a few friends over that episode, and it precipitated some of the bullying I received during the remainder of junior high. Everyone else was growing up, and I was still a baby. 

“I realized that if your mother wasn’t even prepared to allow you to hang out with your friends, then she definitely wouldn’t let us spend some time together. Away from her.” Father added. 

“Is that why you got all legal on our asses?” 

Father didn’t even reprimand my language. “Yes. It was a scare tactic - I would never fully enforce it. I felt that you needed to come out here, get to know us and make your own decisions - not the ones your mother has imposed on you.”

“Those are almost the exact words I used to persuade her to let me come out here. I need to form my own opinions.”

“And?” Father was expectant like a small child. Like that man eight years earlier who wanted in the worst way for his seven year old daughter to hug him. 

I had to be honest. “I’m not sure yet. I like you all well enough - even Athena, although she’s on her high horse right now. It’s...hard. You know?”

I could sense his disappointment, but I had given him some hope. “I know. I’m trying to make up for fifteen years in fifteen days,” he chuckled in a deprecating manner, “as if I could, but I do want to try. Maybe get something a little regular going - coming out every summer?”

“Let’s just start here. I’m enjoying the walks, and getting to know you better.”

“As am I.” Father smiled, and we continued back up to the house. 

The evening of that conversation was the evening everyone finally arrived. What had been a fairly calm couple of days had now turned into a flurry of action. Ares, Hermes, and the twins had settled into the guest house and immediately attempted to turn it into some sort of frat party - music blaring, food everywhere, and disgusting messes left all over the place. I was the main attraction; the never seen half-sister who had finally shown up. 

The only one of the boys I could stand was Hermes, and only then for minimal amounts of time. He was 17 at this point, heading into his senior year at some prestigious prep school. The annoying little boy who pulled my hair and said rude things had turned into a moderately annoying older boy who was mouthy, overly sarcastic, but a little less rude. He even apologized for what he said all those years ago, although I barely remembered it, and joked that for months he thought he was the reason I went away. His company was fine enough, but he had no concept of companionable silence and the endless chatter drove me mad. Once Apollo showed up he was finally out of my hair. 

The twins, Apollo and Artemis were 18. Each a mirror opposite. Where Apollo was blonde, Artemis had hair similar to my deep auburn. Apollo was loud, egotistic, and highly distractible. Artemis was quiet, self-assured, and overly focused. Apollo was a ‘ladies man’, Artemis was openly asexual and aromantic. Both were exceptionally good looking, but Apollo was (and still is) the kind of man you would describe as ‘beautiful’, whereas Artemis was (and still is) stunningly handsome - in an androgynous way. For the most part they both left me alone, although Artemis was good company to have when father wasn’t around - she had no problems not talking. 

Ares. Dear lord where do I start. He’s a little over a year younger than me, so during this visit he had JUST turned 14, whereas I had turned 15 in the spring. Father had sent him off to a military academy, because no other school would accept him. He was a coward, which immediately made him bully material, obnoxious, and when Helena was around he could do no wrong. I could not (and to this day cannot) stand him and the feeling was mutual. Blissfully our rooms were the furthest apart in the guest house. Small mercies. 

Then the adults. Percy and Ami, and about five children I had never met. All very young. To be honest I have never caught their names - although Percy is as close to the family as anyone could get. I had very little contact with them then, and I continue to have very little contact with them now. Although when Percy saw me he swept me up in a massive bear hug that left me positively breathless. “HAHA there you are Persephone! I thought your mother would never let you out of your prison. So GOOD to see you!” His voice boomed. I quickly learnt that is his default. 

A few more people filtered in, cousins on this side or another, associates, business partners, etc…All of which I had to be in attendance for, as the novelty de jour. 

Then Aidon arrived. 

He hadn’t changed much. He was still impossibly tall, slight of frame but filled out somewhat, with the same glasses perched atop his aquiline nose. This time I could discern his hair was, as a matter of fact, black - which framed his unreal violet blue eyes spectacularly. I sensed that I was staring openly at him, so I quickly averted my gaze. My heart was pounding furiously and I could feel the sweat in my palms. I was never one to have my emotions race out of my control, but in the moment I saw him I was awash in a million new sensations - each running through me like fire, and each tinged with a fear of discovery. 

I needed to hide. To find a spot where I could compose myself and find a sense of balance and order. There were fewer people outside than in, and I knew of a spot on the patio that was well secluded and mostly unknown. I caught Athena’s attention as I made a brisk exit. 

In seclusion I tried to order my thoughts, but it was all overwhelming. My body felt as if it wanted to do and say things I had no understanding of. I felt shame at wanting those things, having those thoughts. It was pure madness; aided and abetted by the sound of Aidon’s baritone among the crowd. This was beyond the thrill of seeing an old friend - but was he even that? As I reflected on the last time we met I realized that I had been framing the memory in my current mind. Each time I recalled talking with him I was able to have that conversation as I was in the moment - be it 10, 12, or 15 years old. Suddenly it hit that he would only remember having a conversation with a very small child. The feeling in my stomach was one of embarrassment, at my own stupidity. 

“Father’s going to wonder where you are.” I shot up at the sound of Athena’s voice. 

“Too many people. Just needed sometime to think.”

“About Aidon, you mean?” She smirked. “He _is_ a looker - but positively dull, and slightly off-putting.”

I bristled at her comments, wanting to defend him, when I realized she could be right. What did I know? I had met him once, when I was seven. She had a whole childhood to get to know him.

“Hey now,” Athena sat down beside me on the bench, “I’m just teasing. I saw that look. It’s the look every girl gets. Hell, even I was smitten with him around your age.”

“You were?” I was stunned. Athena was 'smitten' with nothing, other than her own intelligence.

“Of course. You’d have to be gay or Artemis not to have those kind of thoughts. And even then I wonder about Artemis…”

“So?”

“So what?” Athena asked.

“So, did you ever try to do anything about it?” It came out horribly awkward. 

That got an uproarious laugh. Loud enough that I thought she’d give us away. “Oh god no. First, there’s the age difference which isn’t much of an impediment after a certain point, but most importantly it’s his personality. Aidon is quite possibly the most pedantic, staid man I’ve ever met. There’s no joy - just sarcasm, and possibly more sarcasm. Even father has said that he’s not really friends with Aidon anymore, but the familial bond remains. ‘Like a brother’ are his exact words.”

I recalled in my mind hearing Aidon saying much of the same thing, on that night. 

“Anyhow,” Athena continued, “we really should be getting in. Father is going to come looking for us.”

“I’d like to stay out here. If anyone asks, just say that I’m unused to crowds and I’ll be in soon.” It was not a complete lie - crowds did bother me somewhat. 

“Suit yourself, but moping over it isn’t going to help.” Athena got up and walked back in. 

I lost track of time sitting on that bench. I ran through every scenario in which I would go back in and join the party, but each time I thought to move something inside shifted; loud laughter, shouts of “Oh Zeus, stop that!” or some sort of moment that would make me lose my nerve. I had finally resolved not to let this...infatuation get the better of me when I could _feel_ him walk around the corner. 

“Good evening, Cora.”


	5. When I was 15 pt3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. We got there. 
> 
> Thank you for reading, and if you are enjoying please feel free to comment. I like comments.

An immediate sensation was the taste of iron in my mouth. This remains for me a clear indicator of anxiousness. I was frozen in place, and didn’t even look up at him when I said “Good evening.”

“May I sit down?” He asked politely. 

I nodded in the affirmative and watched carefully out of the corner of my eye as he sat down. I could not muster the courage to look at him; my face would have betrayed me if I had. 

There was a moment or two of silence, before he continued. “It’s been a few years hasn’t it?”

“Yup.” I managed that. Barely. 

“So what have you been up to in that time?” I ventured a look, and saw that his face was passive. _“He’s just curious. Nothing more. Breathe.”_ I thought. 

“The usual. I go to school. I ride - barrel racing and pole bending. I work part time at the stable I train at. Hang out with friends. You know, boring stuff.” Ending with a shrug. 

“Sounds pretty busy to me. Riding horses is no mean feat, to race and compete must mean you’re quite good.”

I wasn’t sure if he was playing to my ego or not, but getting praise from him felt exceptionally good. I turned to actually look at him. “Decent. I’m seated 3rd in my age group at the state level and in the top 15 nationally. But who told you I competed?” 

“Your father.” Aidon kept his answer very simple. 

“Ah.”

The silence returned. It wasn’t an awkward one though; much like the last time neither of us felt the need to speak if there was nothing to be said. It was very companionable, and slowly I began to feel at ease again. There was no cause for worry or concern. This was Aidon. As long as I could keep the butterflies in my stomach at ease (for they were still there, but muted) there was no reason why we couldn’t have a pleasant conversation. 

“Do you still live in Louisiana?” I asked.

“Yes. Baton Rouge. I’ve lived there almost long enough now that the locals have stopped calling me a ‘Damn Yankee’, and have resorted to calling me ‘The Yankee’.” He chuckled softly. I soon noted that I liked that sound. 

“Very cool. The Louisiana part - not the people calling you names part.”

“It’s alright. I’m used to it. You have to be if you are going to be from the north and find yourself making a home in the deep south. They never mean it maliciously anymore - I have been living there for just shy of ten years now.”

“Still practicing law?”

“Indeed. I’m an associate District Attorney. How did you know that?” Aidon was genuinely curious. 

I was caught. My face flushed furiously and I tried to hide behind my hair. “I ask about you sometimes, when I’m emailing father.”

It was the first time I had ever seen Aidon fully smile - broad grin and a light that went to his eyes. “I honestly didn’t think you’d remember me being in law school. You were awfully little.” 

A fact I did not want to be reminded of. “Yes. Yes I was.”

His smile turned to concern. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, why do you ask?” I worked to put on a pleasantly neutral look. 

“Your face soured a bit just a moment ago. I hope I did not offend?”

“No, no. Just reminded of how ‘awfully little’ I was the last time we spoke. Seems kind of odd doesn’t it? You are just as I remember you, and I must be so...different. I feel like I should apologize for being so forward and crazy that last time.”

“You were seven. I do not have a lot of experience with seven-year-olds, but I have been assured that forward and crazy are the name of the game.” Aidon spoke, smiling gently. 

“I suppose. Still…” I did not know how to move on from that point, how to explain that I had worked and reworked that night over in my head so many times that I was unsure what was truth and not truth - and had done it so very unconsciously. So I tried to let it drop.

“Still…?” He was holding on, for what reason I could not fathom.  
All I could do was shrug helplessly. “I don’t know, this all very weird. Isn’t this all very weird?”

“Somewhat. But I think I can help you out. The last time we met you were a small child who was having a very bad night of it. I was an adult - barely - who was having a very bad night of it. It was quite fortuitous that we met. I was glad to have your company; you were a very engaging speaker for your age. I hope you were glad to have mine?”

I could see where Athena thought him exceedingly formal, but I liked it. Again, something I quickly noted. “Very much. Wait. You were totally an adult. You were more adultier than the adults back in the house.”

Aidon laughed - that deep rumbling laugh I remembered and went to the top of my list of things I liked. “Adultier?”

I could not help but laugh along. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes. I suppose I do. Sure, I was technically an adult, but I have never felt it around Zeus and Percy - until recently.”

“Well, how old are you then?” I honestly didn’t know; he had never told me his exact age that night. 

“I will be 32 this fall.”

Oh god. Seventeen years. He was seventeen years older than me. My heart sank to the bottom of my feet. I knew he would be considerably older, but I had thought not by much - which is curious because he is somewhat of a contemporary to my mother. Why was I not able to put two and two together? _“So much for that little fantasy brewing in your brain.”_

“Wow.” Was the only thing that came out. 

“Positively ancient, aren’t I?” Aidon side-eyed me with a grin.

“Well, no...not really. But from where I’m sitting, yeah. I’ve got teachers younger than you.”

“Wouldn’t doubt it. You’re what, 15 now?”

“Sure am. Back in March.”

“Some men may envy your youth. I don’t.” Aidon replied.

“Pardon?”

“My teenage years were, unpleasant. I could not wait to finish high school and leave home.”

“Why?” My curiosity always gets the better of my nerves; a blessing and a curse, to be honest.

“Try living in a household where one man had been with almost all of your older sisters, had fathered all of your nieces and nephews, yet refused to marry any of them.” The disdain in Aidon’s voice was not altogether surprising, but it was odd to hear it that first time.

“I don’t suppose it helped either that the particular man in question was the closest friend of your older brother?” I offered up as a response.

“It made it worse. Much worse. Our parents thought of Zeus as a third son. They had such high hopes he would marry one of them. In the end, the only one who could have probably married him was the one who never wanted to get married.”

“Metisse?”

“Your mother has told you?” Aidon looked at me with intent. 

“Not all of it, but a good portion. I know who belongs to whom, and a little bit of why things didn’t work out.”

“I still kind of hate the son of a bitch for it. He broke the heart of one sister, made a jaded bitch out of another, and practically institutionalized the third. Then did much of the same to another family. Yet here we are, answering to his beck and fucking call.”

There was a pause. Then Aidon started to laugh. Not pleasantly, but a dark self-deprecating laughter that echoed through the patio. “It took me **years** to tell a therapist what I just told you now.” He turned on the bench to look me straight in the eye. “Tell me Persephone,” his voice was low and resolute, “how is it I can tell you things in moments that takes me years to tell others, and I willingly do so without a second thought?”

The tension and expectation in the air was palpable; you could taste it. I saw clearly into his eyes and knew he was wanting a specific answer, but there was no possible way I could give it - I had no understanding of what it was. “I don’t know.” I whispered. 

Something clicked in his head, and his gaze shifted. He relaxed, and drew away with a wistful smile. “I’m terribly sorry. I should not have put that on you.”

I took a deep breath, unaware I had been holding it. “It’s ok.” I grappled with an idea in my head and decided to test it out. “Maybe we’re both drawn here because we’re looking for answers.”

“How so little one?”

  
I felt a little shiver when he used that epithet, and I did not mind. “We both want something from him. I want to know why he could just abandon mom like he did. You want to know why he could just up and walk away from your sisters. I don’t know if we’ll ever get an answer, but we keep searching, we keep trying.”

Aidon looked down at his feet, with a peculiar look on his face. You would almost think it was guilt. “Ah, well. Some of us may get their answers sooner than later.”

Before I could ask him what he meant, father found us. “Ah! Here’s where the two of you have been hiding. Get reacquainted, are we?” His smile was not altogether safe. 

“Yes. We were. If you’ll excuse me.” Aidon stood up and went back inside. Father shrugged and offered me his hand. “Everyone’s asking for you Cora, it’s impolite to hide.”

***  
I was surprised that Aidon stayed on for as long as he did. His discomfort at being around father and Percy was clearly evident, and he did not speak to any of my half-siblings except for Athena - and that always ended up in some sort of heated debate. 

In another multitude of broken promises, father returned to work after a week. Something about how the place was falling apart without him. However, he insisted that everyone stay on and that he would be around for evenings and weekends. Aidon became a regular companion of mine. We discovered a mutual hobby in photography, and I got to exercise my debate skills with someone who did it for a living. Debating Aidon was much more pleasant than Athena; he never spoke down or belittled my understanding of the subject matter because of my age. Rather, he sought to educate; pointing me in the direction of little nuances I should know, or how to research a topic better. We spent most of our time walking, or going into the small villages in and around Southampton. He opened up a bit more about his life in Louisiana, and in return I spoke more about life in Wyoming. 

In one of our conversations I asked about the mysterious Luce. 

“Ah. Yes. We broke up, again, just before I came out here.”

“Again?”

“It’s been an off and on thing for quite some time. Although, I do believe it is off for good.”

“Oh?”

“She moved to Los Angeles.”

I nodded. “Yeah. That might do it.”

  
At the end of my stay, I felt rather firm in two convictions; first, that father was someone who meant well but could never be trusted, and secondly that Aidon and I had the potential to be good friends. Several alarm bells went off in my head that a 15-year-old girl had no business being friends with a 32-year-old man, but this was not some creeper seeking to take advantage of me - this was Aidon. My nervous crush had been quelled and placed in the appropriate sphere. I no longer had the confused memory of a brief meeting, but a solid foundation of mutual understandings. I won’t deny that I still had a massive infatuation, but it was tempered with the knowledge that he _was_ an adult and at the very least we could become friends. Armed with this realization I asked for his email address, to keep in touch.

“Would your mother approve?” Aidon asked cautiously. 

I felt it was such an odd question. Mother rarely came up in the entirety of the time we spent together. “Why wouldn’t she? I mean...it’s just email. If she asks I could say you’re helping me with my debating skills.”

“She won’t like it, Persephone.”

I need to note that during the holiday Aidon had started calling me exclusively by my given name. It was a privilege I only extended to him - because of the way he said my name with such grace and ease.

“Then I’ll be super careful with it. It’s not fair though to have started this awesome friendship, then let it slide, right?”

Aidon grinned. “Right.” He kept grinning like an idiot. 

“Ok. That’s getting a bit creepy.” I let out a laugh. “Any reason for the silly look?”

Aidon canted his head to side somewhat to regard me. “I’m very honoured you think of me as a friend Persephone.” He reached into his pocket and handed me a card. “Don’t worry,” he added as he saw my face, “this isn’t my actual business card. I have personal ones made up for networking moments. On the back is my home email.”

I smiled and took it. “Thanks. I’ll fire one off as soon as I get home.”

“I look forward to it.”

I was the first to be leaving. After all that was said and done, it would have been rude to deny father the one thing he had been looking for; my acceptance. So I hugged him. I was surprised by his strength and the warmth that he conveyed. “Don’t be a stranger girl. Just send the word and you can come out anytime.” I nodded. He would always be an enigma to me. How he could treat the women in his life the way he did, but show such affection for his children remains a mystery - even to this day. I didn’t have all the answers, but I left New York knowing more than when I arrived - and much more confident in my decision to keep father at an amiable distance. 

Athena gave me a hug, and apology for her behaviour. I knew that she would always blow with the wind and be a bit difficult, but of all of my half-siblings I liked her the best. Apollo shook my hand, Artemis gave me an awkward half-hearted hug (which I had learnt is the closest to affection she ever shows), and Hermes made me jump for a high five. Ares did not even bother to say goodbye, and I was relieved no one made him try. 

Aidon was the last. I thought his 6’5” to my 5’3” was going to make a hug awkward, but he made it work with ease. It was the first time he had tried to initiate any sort of contact, and I immediately felt a sense of safety and security as he enveloped me. Along with other emotions I worked very hard to suppress. If we were going to be friends, I could not have _those_ kind of thoughts. “Have a safe journey, and I anticipate a full report when you get home.” He whispered in my ear. 

I did not want to let go, but at some point my brain realized that I had to; propriety had to be maintained if this was going to work. 

Father’s driver helped me get my things into the car, and I was off again. Not knowing when I’d see him next.


	6. When I was (almost) 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone and Aidon carry about a secret correspondence, but secrets are hard to keep in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading and following along! This chapter starts to bring certain pieces together, and brings the story thus far to a head. Then we can start writing the super angsty juicy adult things.

This chapter is painful to write, for a couple of reasons. Therefore I want to make it as short as possible, without omitting certain details. 

First, my mother and I have worked hard to put this incident behind us. As a grown woman I understand more about the fear she felt, but I still feel that she was completely out of line. However, my mother to this day refuses to acknowledge she did anything wrong. She was protecting me in the best way she saw fit. This was the beginning of the end for us, as we were to this point. My mother was my rock and guide. I knew she was not perfect, but I valued her advice and judgement more than anyone else. From this time onward, I knew that my mother was someone who was deeply injured and flawed - and her way of processing the pain was always going to cloud her behaviour towards me. I could never again be sure if her actions were those of love or desperation. 

Second, it is the longest period of radio silence between Aidon and myself. The 18 months I was unable to talk to him were interminable, for both of us. However, that time was needed to process the fact that I could not substitute Aidon for mother on any kind of pedestal. He was then, and remains today, an invaluable friend and counselor, but not a moral post that I can hitch my values to. Our last conversation before the silence left me with so many questions, but ones I had to answer on my own. 

When I got back from New York, I related the general experience to my mother. I confirmed a lot of what she had told me, and what she felt; that my father was not a man to be completely trusted. However, I explicitly told her that I had come to an additional understanding, and that was where his children were concerned he wasn’t entirely horrible. He genuinely wanted to do right by the kids, and I was willing to accept that. I stated that if my schedule was not too busy, I intended to spend a week or so in New York the next summer. If my schedule would not allow me to travel, I intended to invite him out for a few days. They did not have to speak to each other, but if he was truthful in wanting to watch me compete then I would gladly have him out. Mother stated I shouldn’t hold my breath, and I accepted that fact, but I would invite him nonetheless and that was MY decision. She wasn’t happy, but she did allow that I had that right. 

I never told her about Aidon. Her mood soured anytime he had been mentioned before, so I kept that information to myself. I secretly began to email him. With ease we basically continued our conversations as if we had never stopped talking. I confided a fair amount in him, but he was always careful to remind me that I was my own person and while advice is always of value, it was more important to trust my own judgement and learn from my mistakes. A highlight of every day was reading his email. 

This pattern continued for months, until he was bogged down in a rather nasty case and he had to excuse himself from daily communication. Aidon never did anything without reason; he promised to email at least once a week - and he was true to his word. Gradually the once-a-week emails became the norm. With my competitive schedule ramping up and his workload increasing daily emails were too much. 

(A brief note about the following summer. I never went to visit, and father never came to Wyoming. But no one saw him. Between meetings and conferences he dropped off the map, and by the time he surfaced for air it was already the middle of October and I was well into the 11th grade)

The problem with habits though is that they become so ingrained that you forget about minutia. If you drive often enough without shoulder checking you completely forget the reason why you should do it. Thus it happened with the emails. 

As a back to school present in 11th grade mother got me a BlackBerry. I was thrilled; it would be a quick method of communication, and I could email and text to my heart’s content. Without thinking I jumped into using it. It never occurred to me who held the contract, and where my data and minutes were coming from. 

Hopefully you can see where this is going. 

Not once did I think it out of the ordinary or highly dangerous to be emailing Aidon from the phone. He very quickly figured out I had a BlackBerry and soon introduced me to that gem known as BlackBerry Messenger. Part of the problem was that communication between us had become so commonplace that we both forgot about how risky it was. After all, we had been emailing for more than a year. In his defense, he assumed I carried the contract because I was; a) sixteen, and b) worked a part time job (and therefore could have paid for the phone). 

Everything was fine. Until a couple of weeks before my 17th birthday. 

When I arrived home from school the house was eerily quiet. I called for my mother a couple of times, but didn’t hear a thing. As I placed my backpack on the kitchen table, I saw the Verizon bill and an entire page circled with a red marker. Inside the circle, written in my mother’s hand, were several question marks and “Ask Cora”.

I had gone over my allotted texting. Not by much, just a few dollars, but enough to make mother question the bill. What I didn’t know about cellular bills is that additional texting shows up not only with the dollar amount, but with the phone number in question. So on this page with the extra charges were details about where these texts were coming from. 

And the area code was 225. A simple google search will tell you that 225 is Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

Shit. 

The month previous I had picked a topic for debate club that was more than I could chew - assisted suicide. I was arguing for, but to my surprise the boy chosen for against was so vehemently passionate about his topic that my usual amount of research wasn’t going to cut it. I was in a bind, and had been texting/emailing Aidon constantly asking for advice. Hence the overage charge. 

My mouth turned metallic, and a roaring noise filled my ears. I was done. There was no way to fib my way out of this. I could only wait for mother to come home and face the music. 

Then I heard a faint keyboard clicking sound from my room. 

_Oh SHIT!_

To have the privilege of having a computer in my room mother made me give her the password. There had been a trust between us though; I had never given her a reason to doubt my usage of it. Until now. 

Each step to my room felt like I was walking to a guillotine. I had no idea what to expect - except perhaps a swift and sudden death. 

My room was cold, and it had nothing to do with the weather. 

Mother was reading through my emails to Aidon. I had the feeling she had been doing that most of the afternoon. Her face was stone, her hand clenched to the mouse, and her jaw was firmly set. Only her eyes gave away the intense rage she was holding in. 

She didn’t even look at me. “Care to explain.”

There was nothing to explain. She was reading the entirety of an almost two year conversation, and could discover the answers herself. “No.”

That was the tick. “Two fucking years Cora? You’ve hidden this for TWO YEARS? AND YOU LET HIM CALL YOU BY THAT….ABOMINABLE NAME?!”

I remained silent out of fear. Nothing I could say now would calm her. 

“How DARE you!!” She screamed. “How dare you go behind my back. I have told you time and time again he is not to be trusted! He corrupts everything, and now he’s corrupting you.”

Still, I refused to speak. We stood there facing each other. “Do you have NOTHING to say for yourself?”

“I have plenty to say, mother.” That was the moment I stopped calling her mom.

Mother started to shake, but gestured that I should say my peace. 

“I don’t know why you hate him so much. You have never given me that reason, and you have shut me down every time I have asked. Two summers ago when I was in New York we befriended each other. Aidon has never been anything but unfailingly polite. Over the two weeks I like to think we became good friends, and I wanted to stay in touch.”

“You wouldn’t understand-” Mother started, but I cut her off. 

“I’m sixteen, maybe if you gave me a fucking chance I would know plenty, but instead you treat me like I’m six. I’m not entirely ignorant of how the world works mother, but if you started talking to me like an adult maybe I could understand. I get that you absolutely despise Aidon, but why?! What in god’s name has he done to you?!” 

“He’s the reason your father left me.” 

“What?” Her answer came right out of left field and stunned me. 

The meltdown had begun, and I got the full tale at full decibels. “Aidon was always Rhea’s favourite Renard brother - she took that boy in as a little pet whenever Zeus and Percy were off doing something. And your grandmother was full of secrets and lies. Used her skills to stir shit up whenever and wherever. Aidon learnt that at her knee. That woman HATED me; constantly berated, belittled, and badgered me. Then she FINALLY died, and now your father could stand as his own man but NO! There was Aidon to reinforce all her strange bullshit. Do you want to know why I HATE him so much?!” Mother paused to catch her breath. “Aidon drove your father into my sister’s arms. Set the whole thing up. The secret dates, the phone calls, ALL OF IT - WHEN I WAS PREGNANT WITH YOU. I was supposed to marry your father, but instead of me at the altar it was Helena instead. If that wasn’t enough, the next was worse.”

I stood at the door in shock. Aidon couldn’t possibly….

“What? Not willing to hear the rest. Your precious friend couldn’t possibly do more, could he? Oh yes. Yes he could. When you were very little we were living with Metisse, in Lancaster. I met a man there. Ian. He was patient, and kind. He would…” Mother started to choke up, “he would have made an excellent father for you. I was learning to love again. We were going to move away - to Canada where Ian was from. We were going to do it quietly. Then Aidon found out. I don’t know how, but mere days before we were going to leave Aidon showed up. Tried to get me to ‘reconsider my actions’. I refused. Then your father came. And he was beyond angry.” 

Mother stopped. But I had to know. “What happened next?”

“Your, _father_ ” mother ground out, “took Ian aside. I do not know what was said, but Ian shook his head at me in pity and left. I never saw him again.”

“Aidon’s not responsible for that! If you’re going to be angry be angry at Fath-”

“YOUR FATHER HAD NO IDEA WHERE WE WERE!! I never told him I went to Metisse. I disappeared the night he broke off the engagement, and with nowhere else to go I grabbed you and went to the first person I was sure would help me. She hid us. Never let on to anyone that we were in Lancaster. THE ONLY WAY HE COULD HAVE FIGURED IT OUT WAS AIDON!!”

I had a hard time believing Aidon was the sole culprit. Metisse had to have played a role in there somewhere. “But Metisse? Maybe she-”

“NEVER!” Mother wailed. “She knew how I felt and respected that.”

Mother looked at my computer, and her eyes flared with renewed hatred. “I’m taking your computer. It will be in the living room now, and you’re only to use it for school. Give me your phone.”

“No!” I was vehement. 

“Give me. Your phone. NOW, Cora.”

I still refused to hand it over.

"GIVE IT TO ME! You do not deserve, nor will you ever have another one!"

“Mom! That’s entirely unfair - I get asking me to stop talking to Aidon but-”

“You don’t understand Cora.” Mother’s voice was deadly quiet. “I have to protect you from them. From them all. You will stop emailing your father. You will no longer call him. All phone calls are to go through the land line, and only when I’m present. You will have no contact with anyone from that cesspool as long as you live in my house.”

I shook. This was entirely unfair. I was being made a prisoner in my own home. “No, mother.”

“What did you say?” The look in her eyes was animalistic. 

“I said no. I’ll respect your wishes to a point, but I will not be a prisoner here.”

“You will do EXACTLY as I say.”

“Fuck you.” It came out before I could censor myself. I heard the crack on my cheek before I registered the feeling of being slapped. Mother hit me hard enough that I stumbled into the door frame. 

“Oh god...Cora. I’m so-”

I didn’t wait to hear the rest. I ran downstairs, grabbed my bag and ran out the door. Luckily with my phone and car keys in my pocket. Tears streaming down my face I drove the twenty miles into Laramie and to my friend Mira’s house. Thankfully Mira and her mother didn’t ask questions. I wandered into their basement, her mother handed me a cup of tea and a blanket, and I began to process. 

Mother had slapped me. 

She blamed Aidon for breaking them up.

She blamed Aidon for many things.

Mother had slapped me. 

There was an important phone call I needed to make. I brought up my contacts, and dialed his number. 

“Persephone?” Aidon’s rumbly baritone was surprised. 

“We need to talk.” My tone was very matter of fact. 

“Now?” He sounded wary, and cautious. 

“Now.”

 

He confirmed most of what mother had said. My heart sank. His version had variations though. When he was in the 11th grade, he traveled to London as part of his debate team. While there, he met up with Helena. According to Aidon, she was the one who was curious about what was happening back home. So he gave her my father’s contact info and said “Why don’t you find out yourself?” Things started to happen. “Your father was just as guilty. There were many ‘business trips’ to London during your mother’s pregnancy. No one knew - except Percy and me. And we were asked explicitly to keep our mouths shut. We begged him to come clean with your mother, but he kept stalling. He knew what it would do to Demi, and he was terrified she would lose the baby- accidentally or on purpose.” Helena came home to see mother have the baby. Within a couple of months, everyone figured out that my aunt had supplanted my mother. “She was a better match for your father, professionally and personally, and I told him so. I encouraged him to develop that relationship. You are smart enough to see the wisdom in that Persephone.”

I could. It still stung, but I could see it. My parents would have flamed out either way.

“I also made no endearments about your name. Rhea died a couple of months before you were born. It was her dying wish for you to have that name. I argued alongside your father that her wishes should be respected.”

“Father said you came up with the compromise.”

“I did. Days before Rhea died.”

“And in Lancaster?” I could sense Aidon was stalling. 

“That was all me. Your mother had vanished and we had no clue where she was. Knowing Demi we felt that soon enough she would make an appearance, but weeks turned into months, and nothing. A police report was filed, but nothing came of it. She must have been using a different name and working under the table. It was by pure luck, in a conversation with my favourite teacher on graduation day that I discovered where she was. My teacher mentioned that a buddy of his was moving back to Canada. The tip off was that his buddy was in a quandary - he wanted to take his girlfriend with him, but she had a baby from another guy and they were worried she’d be charged with kidnapping. Something in my head clicked, and I asked where his friend was living. He said ‘Lancaster, PA’ and I knew immediately that the woman in question was Demi - and that my sister had been playing Zeus all along. I caught the 11:15 from Penn Station and landed on Metisse’s door around 7am. She didn’t even argue - just let me into the house. I spent the next two days trying to convince Demi that jumping the border would be the stupidest thing she could ever do. I knew that she wanted to get away from Zeus - I mean, good god I accepted entry into LSU to do the same thing - but this would bring his wrath down upon her and he would have no problems sending his ex-fiance now sister-in-law to prison if he felt it necessary. But sweet Jesus help me your mother could not be swayed. So I went back to New York and did the one thing your mother begged me not to do. It was for her own good.”

I was angry, but not. Aidon had been so calm, and not once did he beg forgiveness. Agitated, would be the best description. I could see where mother had her blind spots - she so firmly believed that father was in love with her that it would have taken a deliberate act by someone else to change his mind. However, he spoke of _purposely breaking up my parents_ with such coolness - with no regard as to how deeply it would hurt my mother - that I could not let him completely off the hook. 

“Mom found the emails. And the texts.”

“I figured.”

“I’m not going to be able to contact you anymore.”

“I know.” That elicited an emotion. His disappointment was unmistakable.

“I think that might be a good thing for now.” I managed to say it evenly. 

“I think you’re right.” 

“Goodbye, for now.” My voice cracked, and I started to cry.

“Farewell little one.” Aidon whispered. “Persephone, I -” He stopped mid-thought. 

“Yes?”

“I want you to take care.” His voice was full of warmth and emotion. “And we’ll see each other sooner than you think.”

He hung up first. Then I cried like never before.


	7. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post fight, Persephone's life isn't as complicated as you would think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really didn't need to be over involved, from my perspective. Also, I didn't think I would take this long to get this far. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

That spring, after the _incident_ , I stayed with Mira’s family for a bit. The school wanted me to bring in CFS workers, but as I was nearly seventeen I exercised my right to keep it out of the system. I knew the slap was a one-off, but there had to be better ways to deal with the other . She was mentally unhealthy, and I started to realize I had known that fact for a lot longer than I was willing, or ready, to admit. 

I could have started a phenomenal shitstorm by contacting my father, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wanted to try and come to an understanding with my mother. First I suggested we go to therapy. Mother was willing for the first little bit, but when the therapist started to infer that her life experiences were clouding her judgement she stopped going. For you see, there was nothing wrong with her - everyone around her was the culprit. Everything that had gone wrong in her life was someone else’s fault. I kept going for a bit longer, to try and get a handle on how to live with my mother. 

I still wanted to mend the relationship; after all, she was my mother and I still loved her, but I had to put up certain barriers to preserve my sanity. One of those barriers was asking my father if he would pay for a private boarding school. I made the excuse that I wanted to get a one up on college. Mother was extremely tight lipped during that phone call. In her mind I should come back home and everything would return to her view of normal. Father agreed; all I had to do was send him the information. 

When I returned home I handed over my phone. Mother was shocked, but I quickly explained that if we were going to make the next few months work, she had to trust me and I had to trust her. One of those conditions was handing over my cell phone. I had other motives as well; Aidon’s version of events was still an uncomfortable pit in my stomach and the temptation to call him and rip him a new one was too great. I needed the time to think things through, and to not rage at him in the way I wanted to. He was trusting my judgement, and giving me the space to learn that trust for myself. 

The summer was difficult. With mother expecting things to go on as before, there was a new tension in the house. I began to exert more independence, and it chaffed. Without her knowledge or permission I quit competitive riding. I used the extra time to just ride my horses in solitude and comfort. Mother did not like the hours I spent riding. Things came to a bit of a head one evening when she complained about the amount of time I spent out. I fired back that things couldn’t go back to what they once were, and if she wasn’t going to accept that fact then I had to find ways to make living at home bearable. 

“If you’re in such a hurry to grow up, perhaps going off to private school isn’t such a bad idea.” Mother said sourly. 

“Agreed.” Was all that I could say. 

We did have moments where we could connect, and things seemed normal. I made an effort to make sure that mother and I still had our ‘Friday movie nights’, and I was still very communicative about the goings on at school. On those occasions slivers of normalcy returned, and I could almost feel comfortable around her again, but then she would inevitably bring something up about the fight, or about father, or about the family, and everything we had worked for unraveled a bit. One step forward, two steps back. 

My senior year of school isn’t worth going into extreme detail. I was not the only new student entering 12th grade, and we sorted banded together against the ire of students who had been there longer. I kept in touch with the few friends I had back home, but the intensive course load kept me busy. While many would have been crushed by the mountains of assignments, I took it all on with delight. It was a way to distract myself; if I was buried in essays I wouldn’t have time to contemplate the disaster my personal life was. 

However, time is a great healer, mediator, and mentor. Between that and some of the classes I took (such as Christian Ethics, philosophy, and psychology) I began to process all the versions of events. There was one last story I had to get; father’s. 

That phone call was...enlightening, to say the least. Father confirmed Aidon’s version in regards to my aunt. That portion was incredibly difficult to hear, and I believe the feeling was mutual. I could hear him shifting in his office chair each time he had to admit that he was at fault. But I respected him for not holding back; mother had become increasingly dependent and ‘clingy’ for lack of a better word, and father realized he wanted a partner not a housewife. For the quickness of it all, father did have serious regrets. “I wanted Helena to wait. I had just broken it off with Demi, the respectful thing to do would have been to wait. But your aunt can make a very persuasive argument when she wants something bad enough. Later I came to realize there was a bit of jealousy at play - she feared that I would go back to your mother.”

“Would you?” 

“Possibly. I missed your mother terribly, even though I knew she wasn’t right for me. It wouldn’t have lasted, but I might have gone back.” Father’s voice was wistful.

What father told me about Lancaster was the worst to listen to. He admitted that his actions were low handed. “I played dirty, and did it out of fear. If your mother had succeeded with Ian Shipley I would have never seen you again. The threat of being charged with kidnapping wasn’t enough - your mother simply did not care at that point. So I dug up some dirt on Ian - discovered exactly why he was leaving the US and played that card. Normally I don’t care if you get caught selling drugs to privileged prep-school asswipes, and I don’t care if a school chooses deal with it internally, but I was completely willing to drag him to the police and whip up a media shitstorm to keep you and your mother in this country. Also, not going to lie, I was jealous that your mother had found love again. I was already starting to regret jumping in with both feet marrying Helena, and I missed Demi terribly. Seeing her so happy with Ian made my blood boil.”

It was why father compromised when mother disappeared and turned up in Wyoming. She hadn’t left the country and she wasn’t with someone. 

I was silent for a good long time, until father asked if I was still there. I started to nod, before realizing I had to actually confirm I was still on the line.

“You should have all the sides now. Except for Helena’s, but I don’t think you want that one. A lot of what she has done in her life has been rooted in jealousy of her sisters. In the end, I think I’m the one who got played. Cora?” He added after a pause. 

“Hmm?”

“Don’t view Aidon too harshly. His moral compass has always been straighter than any of ours. He only does what he feels is right - for better or for worse. It makes him a complete pain-in-the-ass, but you have to respect him for it.”

“Father, do you like Aidon?” I recalled the conversation on the patio two and a half years earlier, where Aidon expressed his dislike of him.

“No.” The immediacy of his answer surprised me. “I never have. Our personalities are too different, but I do have immense respect for him. He is smarter than all of us put together, and his conduct has always been above board. I treat him like family because he’s Percy’s brother - and he was a favourite of my mother’s. Your grandmother thought the world of him. Irked me to no end, but I could see what she liked.” There was something unsaid in the way father finished. I wanted to ask, but felt that this was not the time. 

“Anything else?” Father asked me.

“No.”

“Am I coming out for your graduation?”

“No. I didn’t even invite mother. I’m going to walk, listen to the speeches, then make my way home.”

“Decided on college yet?” 

“Not sure. I don’t want to waste money if I don’t know what I’m doing. I still need time to figure it all out.”

“Alright. But don’t put it off too long, or you’ll never go.” 

I rolled my eyes. “Duly noted.”

With all sides of the story I started to piece it together. I began to see how all three personalities would interact and conflict. Aidon, true to his nature, would see the logic in Helena and father being together. It wasn’t that he was purposely breaking up my parents; he would view his actions as speeding up the inevitable. A very high-handed approach, and possibly one made with the hubris of a young adult. Father, as I continued to note, governed himself with his passions and appetites - and made no pretense to hide that. Mother was guided by raw emotion, and viewed the world as one large injustice after another. She would never apply logic to a situation, until it could be proven that her emotions did her a discredit. 

As I grappled with this understanding, the pit of anger I held against Aidon disappeared. His methodology was incredibly flawed, but his knowledge of how my mother and father worked wasn’t. I suddenly had the urge to contact him and tell him that.

But events conspired to bring us together in person before I had the chance to call.


	8. When I was 18 pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone ends up in New York for unexpected reasons, and finds an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to split this up into three parts again, because it was getting so long. There is also a change coming in how these chapters are going to be titled, because events start happening fast and furious. Thank you all for reading!

My maternal grandfather died that October. 

He had a heart attack at his job. That alone didn’t kill him, but he was a construction supervisor and he fell the nearly eight stories off wide beams. Sudden and unexpected really don’t seem like the appropriate words but it was, in fact, sudden and unexpected. 

I never knew him. My maternal grandparents sided with my father and Helena over the whole Lancaster incident. That was enough to earn mother’s enduring enmity. She ensured they would never meet their grandchild. Even at that party, eleven years earlier, I was shielded from them. 

So, it’s impossible to mourn someone you’ve never met. Rather, I mourned the death of possibility. It was a meeting I was hoping to make, somewhere down the line. 

His death led to absolute chaos. 

Mother refused to go home for the funeral. Phone calls were made. Father begged me to intercede, Hestia begged me to intercede, and even Helena called me personally and begged me to do something. But I washed my hands of it; mother was immovable, and if they wanted her to come they were going to have to come out here and convince her. I would not be their intercessor.

I thought that would be the end, but I was so wrong. 

Helena and Hestia flew out on a red-eye. 

Admittedly, I left the house. Mother flew into a rage when they pulled up into the drive that Wednesday morning, and I used her momentary loss of wits to grab the keys to my vehicle and bolt. Helena and Hestia tried to stop me as I fled the house, but I just shook my head and said “You’re on your own ladies. I want nothing to do with this.”

While deciding what I wanted to do with my life, I started working full time at the ranch where I used to train. Having known the Smith’s for a long time, I also arranged a deal where if I needed or wanted to I could bunk down in their extra room - with the ‘rent’ being deducted from my pay. However, if I was there less than a week it was rarely taken off my cheque. When I showed up bright and early that morning with my duffle bag Mrs. Smith knew something was up. 

“My aunts have descended. I want no part of it.”

She simply nodded and asked me if oatmeal for breakfast was good.

That evening I had a phone call. “It’s your mother.” Mr. Smith said. I was wary, but he nodded to the fact that she seemed in control. 

“Hello?” I was hesitant. 

“We’re going to New York.” It was tersely ground out.

“Okay...for how long?”

“Funeral is Saturday. I’m coming back that night, but you can stay for as long as you wish.”

THAT was new. “Well, I would probably come back with you, I mean - there’s nothing that would keep me there.”

“Your father is taking advantage of the situation to call everyone together. Since most are coming for the funeral anyway he has decided that he wants to settle things.”

“Huh?”

“Oh don’t be so daft Cora. He’s been spooked. He’s making out his will and he wants everyone to sign on the dotted line that you all won’t fight over his money.”

“I thought that was already settled." I found it odd that father didn't have is affairs in order. 

“No. And his lawyers have been chapping his ass about it for the last 20 years.”

“Okay. Well. We sign and go home.” It seemed fairly straightforward to me. 

“I don’t know, I thought maybe you’d like to spend some time with your half-siblings.”

I didn’t know where this was coming from. Was mother...actually encouraging me to visit my family? The same woman who would have little fits at the mere thought of sending me to New York?

“Mother, are you ok?” I was genuinely concerned. 

There was a soft chuckle on the other line. “I’m fine. Honestly. If it were up to me we wouldn’t be going at all, but it seems that my presence is required on my family’s side. However, once we’re there I wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted to catch up with Athena or any of the others. I wouldn’t stay too long though, if I were you.” It wasn’t that mother was threatening me, as much as still trying to guide me as she had before. 

“Ok. But I begin lead training with my classes next week, so I’ll likely be coming back with you.”

I could sense her smile on the other end. “Sounds good. Oh, you can come home if you want. The house is still intact, and we’ve stopped yelling at each other. For now.” I honestly could not tell if the last part was a joke or not. 

I explained the situation to Mr. Smith and he said take all the time I need. There were others who could cover my classes. I went home and saw my two aunts sitting at the kitchen table with mother. There was an eerie kind of denouement between the three of them as they chatted pleasantly about mundane topics. Both Helena and Hestia rose up to give me a hug in greeting. I left them to go pack some bags, as we were going to be heading out the next morning. 

In hindsight, I wish I had packed for a longer journey. But what I ended up doing hadn’t even entered into my mind as a remote possibility. Got a new wardrobe out of it though.

When we arrived in New York we were greeted by my father - a totally unexpected turn of events for all four of us. The look on my aunt Helena’s face was even stormier than that of my mother, while Hestia (a woman who took ‘homey’ to a whole new level) actually scowled. Before anyone could speak, he held up his hands in protest - or defense. 

“I come only to offer my services as driver. I’ll drop you ladies off wherever you wish.”

Mother and my aunts pointedly said we would take a taxi, until they saw the queue outside of the terminal. In a twist, father did not rub that fact under their noses; he simply collected the luggage, placed it on a trolley, and walked us to his car. The ride into Queens - where my grandparents lived - was completely silent. Three women fuming at one man and myself trapped in the middle. 

When he delivered us to my mother’s childhood home, we were met by my grandmother. The look on her face when seeing my father was none too pleasant either, and I was left wondering what on earth had happened. Father caught my look, and whispered into my ear, “If you’re willing to grab a coffee I’ll explain.” 

The reunion between my mother and grandmother was overwhelming to behold. There was a beat, then a flood of tears. It was too much to watch, and I cautiously went over to my mother. “I...I think you have some stuff to deal with. I’m going to go with father - for now - and when you’ve got this all sorted call me.” I could see my grandmother wanted me to stay with them, but I was resolute; they had to sort out the last 18 years before throwing me into the middle. Mother frowned, but nodded. 

I got back into the car, but this time took shotgun. “Instead of coffee, why don’t we just use the drive out to the Hamptons?”

Father had cheated. This in itself wasn’t a surprise, but after years of being careful he had slipped and gotten the woman pregnant. It was Samantha - his long time assistant. She was quite rational about the whole affair, even willing to take a pay-off and walk away, but father has this ‘thing’ about kids - he just can’t let go. So Sam had given birth to a little baby boy named Dionysus, Dion for short, a few weeks ago and father could no longer hide the relationship. 

“Hence the frostiness.” I quipped. 

“Yup.” Father replied. 

“You really need to start keeping it in your pants.” It came out before I could censor it. I shot him a look of terror, before we both started to laugh. 

"You're not wrong, Cora.”

“Persephone.”

“What?”

“Cora really doesn’t work for me anymore. It doesn’t sit right. Never really did, to be honest. Mother uses it, and always will I suppose. And people back home. But I don’t like it. It’s the kind of name for someone who’s sweet and lively, good natured and all homey. You know, white picket fence, 2.5 kids and a dog, that kind of thing.”

“And you’re not?”

“Decidedly. Still not sure what I am, but I know that ‘Cora’ isn’t it.”

Father looked at me in a rather odd way as I tried to explain the person I was becoming. In the year since the _incident_ I had turned away from the sweet pushover who followed blindly. Something about me had changed; I was more sarcastic, darker, and I gave my opinions freely. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because you sound exactly like my mother. That’s why.”

When we arrived in Southampton I started to take my luggage to the guest house, but father shook his head. “It’s still decorated the same as it was three years ago. Perhaps you’d like something a little more, grown up?”

I shrugged. “It wouldn’t bother me.”

“Oh perhaps knowing that Ares, Apollo, and Hermes are there turning it into their version of ‘Animal House’ may change your mind?”

I took my bags into the main house. 

The decor had changed somewhat; evidence that Helena kept up with the most current of trends. A housekeeper showed me the way to my guest room, and I noted that I could hear noises in the adjoining rooms. “Oh yes,” she told me, “there are a few more people here.”

The room I had been given was decorated in a pleasant nautical theme; very Cape Cod in white and blue, but nothing overwhelming. However, unlike the guest house where I would have had access to my own ensuite, I was consigned to the idea of having to share a washroom with the other guests. “Oh the horror!” I mocked myself, acknowledging how stupid it was to pout over a bathroom. 

Flying makes me grumpy and anxious at the best of times, so I grabbed some of the towels provided and made my way down the hall to shower. As I exited my room, the person in the guest room next to mine also left. I wasn’t paying much attention, but they certainly were. 

“Persephone!”

I froze. I would know that voice anywhere. 

“Aidon?!”


	9. When I was 18 pt2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone and Aidon break their nearly two year long silence.

The metallic taste and roaring sounds flooded my senses. My hands trembled. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him what the hell he was doing here, but he looked at what I was carrying and beat me to the punch.

“Oh, I can see you’re heading off to shower. I won’t detain you.”

And just like that he rushed past me. If I wasn’t so stunned at his awkward behaviour I would have been down right angry at it. 

Had the nearly two years apart irrevocably changed our friendship? Wasn’t this the man who promised me we would reconnect?

The next couple of days were a strange dance played out by the two of us. We would exchange greetings; I would be on the very verge of saying something, then he would excuse himself with some sort of pretense. As more people arrived for this family meeting, Aidon found plenty to distract himself with - so that I never got a chance to properly speak to him. 

Each denied moment led to more frustration and confusion. What had I possibly done? My resentment was turning to anger, but I refused to be like my mother and let it consume me. I was determined to get answers, sooner than later. 

Saturday was the day of the funeral, and the evening of the meeting. Everyone who was a guest at my father’s house was attending the funeral, and many of the key players in the funeral were going to be guests at the meeting. Have I mentioned how father makes things exceptionally complicated?

I sat with my mother as a sign of support. Father sat with Helena, but you could cut the tension between them with a knife. Percy, Ami, their kids, and Aidon were in the row behind us - as were Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, and Ares. I could feel Aidon’s eyes were on me most of the service. I turned over in my mind all the things I wanted to say, and on occasion hoped that he was doing the same. 

Going out to the graveyard was not my idea. However, mother specifically asked if I would join her. The two days spent with my grandmother must have cleared out several things, because all of the sisters held hands with her as my grandfather was lowered into the ground. The crying was uncomfortable. I’ve always disliked bearing witness to things I had no business witnessing. Afterward, father approached them cautiously. 

“I would like all three of you to come to the house this evening.”

“Why should we bother?” My mother spat.

“Because I have made provisions for all of you in my will. I’ll require signatures.”

This news sent a bit of a ripple through those gathered. No one, not even Helena, could guess at what my father was playing at. But all would be revealed.

The evening was like a parody of the one eleven years earlier. It was almost all the same people, but rather than a lively party everyone was speaking in hushed tones. Speculation was rife; would he leave it all to Ares? Would all of the kids receive an equal share? I received more than my fair share of looks - some with sympathy and others with resentment; after all, I was the child not raised within father’s sphere of influence. 

I, however, was a woman on a mission. With my mother distracted by Hestia and grandmother, I actively sought out Aidon. He was not hard to find, having retreated into a corner of the dining room with a glass of whiskey. I made eye contact and held it. I would not back down. Finally he nodded in acquiescence, and with his head motioned towards the patio. I glanced over my shoulder to see that mother was still sufficiently engaged. 

This time, I would get the first word in. “What the fuck Aidon?! All you’ve got for me is some cursory ‘hello’s’ and ‘good morning’s’? I’ve been waiting over a year to hash this out, and when I finally muster up the courage to call you I get the chance to see you in person. But now you’re going to avoid me like I’m some sort of disease?”

Aidon stood there not responding. It was aggravating. “Well?”

“Are you done?” Was his response, and it felt like a sucker punch. 

“Well I guess that answers it then. Obviously you are.” I was fuming. “I’m sorry I even caught your attention, seeing as I am so beneath you now,” my eyes began to tear, “I’ll just go in and we’ll forget I even bothered.” I turned away and started to head back inside when he firmly caught my arm and swung me back around. 

“Don’t you dare Persephone. Don’t you dare turn away from me again. I couldn’t bear it.” His voice was low and thick with emotion. “That came out all wrong. I wanted you to have your say. To get it all out. When I didn’t hear from you after several months I figured you were beyond angry with me. I understood that - I would have been angry as well had I been in your position. When it reached the year mark I was at a loss. I felt as if you had written me off for good. When I saw you Thursday morning I had no idea what to say. I had no idea what you felt, and I purposely avoided you. So if you are here to end our friendship, then at least do so to my face.”

It clicked. He truly believed that my emotions ran like mother’s; hot and cold with nothing in between. Aidon wasn’t angry.

He was terrified.

“I’m not here to end it.” I spoke softly. “I...it..it did take me a long time to figure it all out. I was angry, then confused. I looked for answers. Then I had a conversation with father and it began to make sense. I don’t approve of your methods, but your reasoning wasn’t faulty.”

Aidon laughed. “My methods were shit. A shitty, puffed up, little know it all boy who thought he had all the answers. A wiser man, an older man, would have let them play it out. I thought I was sparing Demi years of pain and a broken heart. How little I knew her.”

He still held me close. I could smell his aftershave; a deep musky scent, with just a few light notes of citrus and mint. It was doing funny things to me. Sensing a change, Aidon gently released me and offered a seat on the bench. I took deep breaths to calm myself before I spoke. 

“I wanted to call you so many times.”

“But you couldn’t?” Aidon asked.

“Well, besides one of the obvious barriers,” I jerked my head in the direction of the dining room, “I had no idea what to say. I was so angry with you for meddling in their affairs, but at the same time I was angry with mother for wanting to control me, and angry with father for being, well...him. I was just this, shell of human burying myself in school work while seething anger all the time.”

“Sounds familiar.” Aidon’s tone was dark. I looked at him quizzically. “I would describe most of high school in similar terms.”

“Sometime around the spring, a couple of my classes started to have connecting ideas. I spoke with a few teachers, and began to think things through. Then I called father.”

“How was that for you?”

“He certainly doesn’t hold back, does he?” I quipped. 

Aidon smirked sarcastically. “Nope. He does not deny who and what he is. For that I suppose we can be moderately grateful.”

“Does that make Helena willfully ignorant then? I mean, if my father will not deny who and what he is, how does he manage to attract and keep women who are clearly intelligent enough to see through him?”

“Persephone, that is a question we have ALL been asking for over twenty years.” Aidon said with exasperation. “It is an enigma, right up there with the chicken and the egg.”

I laughed. “I certainly hope I would never fall into such a trap. One thing I have learned from this gongshow of a family is that I need to find a man who is content with and fulfilled by my love. Such creatures exist, right?”

Had I known a little bit more about men at that point, I would have recognized how inflammatory my words were. Aidon’s violet blues shone bright as he looked me in the eye. “You don’t want a man who is merely content, little one. You want a man who would fight for the privilege of your love. Someone who would know what possessing your heart truly means. Likewise, they would want to know you would do the same for them.”

I held my gaze equal to his. “Naturally.” I intoned softly. “What I give of myself, I would treasure in return. A true partnership.”

Aidon smiled. “Such things are possible Persephone, if you know where to look.”

I broke the moment by rolling my eyes. “I think knowing _how_ to look is important as well.”

“What makes you say that?” Aidon asked curiously.

“Think about this; you are the only daughter of a woman who had her heart broken not once, but twice-” Aidon winced and I nudged him with my arm, “your feelings of guilt are appreciated, but let me finish. So this woman has had a rough go in the relationship game, and has a daughter. What kind of life lessons do you think she imparts?”

“Men are horrible creatures never to be trusted.” Aidon mocked my mother’s inflection. It was hard not to giggle. 

“Exactly! So because men are horrible creatures never to be trusted, do you think this woman would really allow her daughter to date?” I cocked my head to the side, to emphasize my point. 

“I would assume not.”

“Nope. Not a lick. I’m surprised she even taught me the ‘birds and bees’, considering she fully expects me to never date or marry.”

Aidon laughed. “She...oh no...did she use ‘birds and bees’? Please tell me no.”

I blushed a bit as I remembered the sheer awkwardness of that talk. “No no. Mother was frank. Painfully so. Right up to her description of childbirth.” I mock-shuddered for effect.

“Wait - does your mother believe you’ll never marry?” Aidon drew himself up somewhat, and it was rather intimidating. 

“Yup. Long has she beat the drum of joining a charitable mission of some sorts. Since I decided to delay going to college she has really been enthusiastic about me going on discernment retreats and possibly joining the sisterhood.”

“Does that possibility appeal to you?” Aidon became quite guarded. 

“Not in the slightest.” I could feel him release some sort of unknown tension. “I know that I am very interested in boys, or men, or whatever. But thanks to my mother I have absolutely no clue how to read them. In my junior year, my friend Mira said that half of the boys in our class were smitten with me, and that several were blatantly flirting and Aidon, I shit you not, I had no clue. I just thought they were being overly nice. It was more annoying than anything.”

That generated a chuckle. “I could imagine. Teenage boys are not exactly subtle when it comes to expressing interest.”

“I think all men are designed to club you in the back of the head and drag you into cave.” I laughed. 

“Ah, but little one that is only your experience of them. When a man, not a boy, has a clear endgame he can be as patient and subtle as he chooses.”

Looking back, I realize that I got played in a long game. But I’m not exactly complaining either. Being the person I am now has its definite perks. 

“Does it get easier?” I asked, clearly ignorant of what Aidon was implying. 

“It does. However you have to be immersed in it to get familiar. Clearly, your mother has not given you that chance. College might be a place to start.” He gave me a pointed look. 

“Oh no. Not you too.” I groaned. 

“Persephone, at some point you’re going to go. Ideally, somewhere a long, long way from Wyoming. You’re going to figure out what it is you want, and you are going to pursue it with abandon.”

“Another ‘discussion’ mother and I have been having.” 

“Oh?”

“Father will only pay for college if I leave the state, but I don’t want to be completely dependent on his money. Mother will only assist me if I stay in state - preferably at home since UWy is in Laramie.”

“What do _you_ want?” Aidon asked.

“It’s not that simple. If money were no object I would like to look at going to school in California, Berkley if I could get in. Notre Dame would be interesting. I’ve also looked at some southern schools, like Duke or LSU. But I don’t know what I would study.”

The grin on Aidon’s face exploded into a smile. “Yes you do.”

“What?” I was confused. 

“The schools you listed; Berkley, Notre Dame, Duke, LSU. What do they have in common?”

I shrugged. “Good humanities programs?”

“And?” 

I shook my head. I had no clue where he was leading. 

“Law schools. Other than Yale or Harvard, the schools you listed have some of the best graduate programs for law.”

“You’re not just projecting some fanciful wish on me, are you Aidon?”

“You are your own person. But think about it; you’re angling for law school.”

As I pondered it in my head I found he was correct. Every possible decision I had made about college inevitably led to one conclusion; I wanted to study law. I looked down rather sheepishly. “Why had I never thought of that. Seems rather foolish not to know my own mind.”

“Not at all. Sometimes we don’t realize what we have right in front of us.”

“So, being an LSU alum, I suppose you’re going to bang that drum pretty hard?” I said with a smirk. 

“Naturally. But I also have some pretty selfish reasons for promoting LSU.”

“Huh?”

Aidon shifted closer to me on the bench. “You’d be in my neck of the woods.”

The thought of it sent a little shiver down my spine, and I felt his warmth envelop me. Feelings I fought hard to keep buried for years returned to the surface. Was he implying what I thought?...but I shook it off. This was Aidon. My friend. A mentor. _Seventeen years older than me_. 

I looked up at him, and for the first time was struck by how exceptional his features were. At this proximity I could visually trace his nearly perfect cupid’s bow, and see the fine whiskers of his five o’clock shadow. His square jaw balanced out the hawkishness of his aquiline nose. A thought crossed my mind; what would it be like to kiss him? I was close enough - a mere push forward on my part would connect us. 

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I whispered. 

“Very much.” Aidon replied. 

Before anything could happen we were interrupted by Hermes, who stood at the patio corner with what best could described as a shit-eating grin. “Father’s looking for you two. He wants to get this show on the road.”

We broke apart and stood up simultaneously. “Alright then, let’s get this farce over with.” Aidon muttered. He strode past Hermes and back into the house. I took a calmer pace, in step with my half-brother. 

“What?” I snapped. He still had that grin. 

“Nothing. Just a thought.”

“Keep it to yourself.”

“Whatever you say, sister.” Hermes laughed, as he held the door open for me.


	10. When I was 18 pt3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone decides to take matters into her own hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, liking, and commenting!
> 
> I borrowed a line here from "100 Days of Night". It changes the trope of Hades/Persephone up a little bit, and puts the ball in Persephone's court.

One of the reasons father bought this particular house in Southampton was that it featured a small boardroom just off the dining room and near his office. I suspected that it had once been a library, but as the house went through many incarnations it had been transformed into a place of business rather than pleasure. It here that we were summoned and seated in very specific spots. Each place at the table had a folder with our names on it, and we were assigned our places in a very peculiar fashion. In assembling everyone I would have thought father would have kept family groups together. Instead we were spread out and placed in opposition; adults across from children. Percy and Aidon were seated across from each other and beside my father who assumed his natural spot at the head of the table. 

“Thank you for coming everyone.” Father intoned. This was a new experience for me; I had never heard him use his ‘authoritative voice’. In this persona I could see where he commanded the respect of the business community. “After many years and many requests from my lawyers I have decided to finally draft my will. In the folders provided you will find the following; a summary page declaring what you are entitled to, the specific pages detailing what you are getting in legalese, and then finally a signatory page where you sign in agreement. At this point I’m going to ask my attorney to provide details.”

Father’s attorney - a Mr. Nesbitt - explained what was required of us. If we were agreeable to the terms listed within, we were to sign on the line. Our signature was binding, and one of the sub-clauses outlined that it meant we agreed to the will and testament in full and would not contest it - now and forever. But there was a catch - the will was not valid until _everyone_ had signed. This is where father stepped back in. 

“That is why you are all here. If there are going to be any fights and disagreements we are going to hash them out here, right now while I’m still around to prevent utter chaos. No one leaves this room until there is full agreement.”

That sent murmurs around the end of the table where my mother, Hestia, and Helena sat. 

“You may proceed.”

I opened my folder and read the summary page. The numbers present were astounding. Mother and I led a comfortable existence in Wyoming - not poor, but not phenomenally wealthy. Using her background mother ran a very prosperous and busy daycare/preschool in Laramie, eventually getting her degree in education and opening a second location operating under Montessori principles. The kind of money listed on my summary page would skyrocket me into a whole new bracket. The ‘let’s just live off the interest for the rest of our lives’ bracket. There were some barriers though; I would have access to 25% of the money in trust while I attended university, would receive another 25% upon turning 25, and the final 50% upon turning 30. From my standpoint it seemed logical; that kind of money in the hands of someone like...Ares, for example, would lead to disaster. 

And sure enough, the first whine of protest came from the boy in question. 

“I don’t see how this is fair. Why can’t we just have the money given to us in full when we are 21, like everyone else does?” 

“Because I don’t trust you to not squander it on stupid life choices.” Father was blunt, if not a little cruel in his tone. 

“If I were to look over at Athena’s or Hermes’ folder, I bet you they get their money before they’re 30.”

“I don’t.” I spoke up. Mostly to stop his sniveling. “I have access to what I might need now, what I’ll maybe need down the line, and the rest when I should be of an age to know what I want and what to do with it.” 

“Nobody cares what you think.” Ares spat. “Why does she even get a share anyway? It’s not like she cares about you or this family.”

I glared down the table at him, and felt a deep satisfaction when almost everyone else did the same. Except for Helena, who remained rather stone-faced. She side-eyed my mother, before making a move to speak. “I don’t see why any of them should get as much.” You could barely hear her. 

“What was that Helena?” Father asked.

“I said, I don’t see why any of them should get as much. Ares is your only legitimate child. The others should be happy with a token and that’s it.”

This set father off. “This is NOT some ancient European royal house Helena, where the legitimate boy gets the crown and the bastards are bought off with a title, some land, and a pretty wife. I have seven children and they will get an equal portion.” He was seething. “And yes, before you open that smart mouth of yours again, I do plan on providing for Dion. I am his father, and I intend to be in his life. If that bothers you so terribly much, we can go over the prenup again and I can remind you exactly what you are entitled to if we divorce.”

Helena was livid and shaking. Mother couldn’t help but smirk, and she caught it. “You can wipe that smug grin off your face Demi. That was initially _your_ prenup, regardless of what you think.”

A suspicion of mine was confirmed. Mother always insisted there would have never been a prenuptial agreement had father married her. Somehow I found that hard to believe, because at the end of the day my father looks out for himself. 

“Enough!” Father bellowed, and it jerked us all to attention. “We are not going to bicker like fishwives. If anyone has any concerns, they can bring them forward like civilized adults,” father paused to look at Ares for emphasis, “and we can discuss them in a similar manner.”

Athena raised a hand for attention. “Father, I don’t see how you can conduct this like a business meeting. We are family; we fight, we bicker, we disagree. This won’t be settled in one fell swoop, regardless of what you think.”

Father acknowledged the wisdom in that argument, but pressed ahead regardless. “I would rather have it out here and now, instead of years down the road and everyone is armed with lawyers.”

Aidon was the next to speak. He pushed his folder towards my father. “I don’t want it.”

Father raised his eyebrow, looking for an explanation, and Aidon obliged. “I don’t want your money, I don’t want to be beholden to you.”

“You’re not beholden to me Aidon. Think of it as a gift, or payment for services rendered.” Father replied.

Everyone, including myself, knew that he was referring to Lancaster. It was mother’s turn to burst. “Guilt, Aidon? Where was the guilty conscience all those years ago when you broke your promise to me? Take your blood money Judas, payment for services well rendered.”

“Don’t you start with me Demi.” Aidon fired back. “I spent two days trying to convince you how ill-conceived your little plan was. Did you not think Zeus was going to hunt you down with every lawyer in his arsenal? You would’ve been on the run for years, constantly fearing discovery. You can continue thinking in your pretty little head that he would have given up, but I knew better and deep down you knew it too. Your stubborn and willful ignorance left me with no choice. Don’t lay your misery at my feet.” At the end Aidon was on his feet, using his size to dominate over the table. It was my first glimpse into the authority and power he commanded in a courtroom. 

And, I won’t lie, it turned me on. 

His outburst silenced everyone. The entire room waited for my mother to respond, but she couldn’t. It was the truth, and any rebuttal out of her mouth would come across as petty and childish. 

Next Percy spoke. “I find the terms generous. Anyone who thinks otherwise is foolish.”

Aidon took his folder back, and studied it carefully. “I still refuse to take my share personally, but I would like to make a counter offer.”

My father eyed him carefully. “Continue.”

“I would like my share rolled over into an educational trust for Persephone. She would have full administration of that account, from this point onward until she completes school, and any balance remaining once her schooling is complete would be discharged to her for her own discretion.” Then he looked pointedly at my mother. “A recompense for the apparent damage I have caused.”

Father pondered his words and felt their exact weight. A small grin appeared on his face. “I would have to rewrite the terms of the will for that to happen. Might take weeks, maybe months. I counter that we continue as planned, in full acknowledgement that the money will be discharged to you, and you can re-administer those funds as you see fit.”

“Agreed.” Aidon matched my father’s smirk. Now I could see where my mother had her misgivings; Aidon and my father rarely saw eye-to-eye, but when they were in agreement it was a frightening thing to behold. If they could set about 99% of their personalities aside, the two of them could possibly run the world. 

“Wait. I don’t get it? What’s going on?” Ares started asking.

“Our dear sister is going to get her independence.” Hermes quipped. “Some much needed independence, I think.”

Mother shot me a look. “Is that what you and Aidon were talking about on the patio?”

“What?” I fired back quickly. How did she know?

“Oh don’t play coy with me child. You thought I didn’t see you leave with him, but I did. Both of you were gone quite some time; plotting against me were you?”

“God no. Mother, get a grip on yourself. We were just getting re-acquainted.” I tried to play it low-key; I couldn’t let on that we were, in fact, talking about university. Indeed, he was very close to convincing me that Baton Rouge, Louisiana has a lot to offer other than LSU. Or at least I was fairly sure that’s what he was doing…

“Get a grip?” Mother’s voice dropped low. I saw Hestia put a hand on mother’s forearm, but she shrugged it off. “Get a grip! After everything I have done for you, everything I have worked SO HARD FOR, you’re going to just abandon ship and run off? I refuse to let that happen.”

“You’re hardly in a position to refuse mother. I’m eighteen, about the only thing I can’t do in this country is drink!” She was getting under my skin. “When are you going to realize that my actions aren’t some personal insult towards you? That I should be allowed to make my own decisions, and trust my own judgement.”

“Oh-ho, so now that you’re eighteen you’re suddenly this font of wisdom that knows better than your own mother. What kind of skills do you think you have to cope in the real world Cora? One year of boarding school does not an adult make.”

“And whose fault do you think that is mother?! Who here at this table is the one that wouldn’t let me date, or hang out with my friends. Who here has kept me ignorant as long as possible - filling my head with horror stories about men, and how shitty this family is, and constantly berating my opinions on EVERYTHING. If you’re going to sit there and mock me for a lack of knowledge and wisdom you better check who’s responsible for that.”

As we both stared each other down, I felt a surge of invincibility go through me. I took the pen placed in front of me, turned to the last page of the folder, and scribbled my signature on the lines required. “The offer is generous, and you’re all fools if you squabble over it. I know it, you know it, and he” I pointed to my father, “knows it. He’s locked us in here to just get all our grievances out in the open, but I want no part of it. I don’t care about the shit that has gone down in the last twenty years, and I’ll be fucked if I let it dictate my future.” I slammed the pen down on the table. “I’m done.”

I stood up from my chair, went to the door, and walked out of the room. I was surprised that no one stopped me. I felt a freedom, a sense of independence and accomplishment. Then, as I went to my room, I felt sheer terror. I was supposed to be on a return flight with my mother first thing in the morning. Once I was back in Wyoming she would do everything to try and regain control. 

It wasn’t long before I heard my mother banging on the door. “Cora! You open this door immediately you hear me!” She was rattling on the door knob. Her voice was full of anger, and I knew that if I opened that door she might resort to physical violence again. It was the same emotional state she was in after reading my emails. “Cora! CORA!”

I heard my father come up the stairs. “Demi, leave it alone. She’s said her peace, now just let it-”

“Don’t you dare lecture me! You’ve poisoned her against me. She is MY daughter, not yours. You sat here in New York fucking whomever you pleased, not giving a rat’s ass about her, and suddenly you think you can just waltz back into her-”

“YOU NEVER GAVE ME A FUCKING CHANCE DEMI” Father bellowed over top. “If I had come out to visit you would have made the entire experience so unpleasant. No child deserves that. Hell, even as it stands all she has is the two of us fighting on the phone.”

“And whose fault is that?” Mother continued to shout. “It didn’t have to be this way.”

Then there was silence. They had reached the unspeakable. I knew for a fact that neither of them were ready to listen. Father didn’t want to know about the pain he had caused, and mother didn’t want to acknowledge that they were fundamentally horrible for each other. They both knew these truths, but if you left them unsaid then they didn’t really exist. 

“Leave her alone Demi. Sleep on it, and try to work it out in the morning.” I could sense a “but” in there. However, in his wisdom father let it drop. I could hear him walking away, but mother remained at my door a little longer. 

“I know you can hear me Cora, so listen carefully.” Her voice was low. “This is not the end of it. You are still my daughter, and you’re still a child. I will take whatever steps I need to in order for you to come to your senses.”

I was familiar with the threat. In the immediate aftermath of the _incident_ , mother threatened to have me confined to the house. It was the reason I stayed with Mira as long as I did before coming home. It took most of the first therapy session for her to let go of that thought. Now it was back, and I knew full well that she would act on it. A decision was made; I had to leave and I had to leave tonight. 

I started to frantically pack my bags. There was very little, but it would have to do. I grabbed my bank card and used the phone in my room to call and check my balance. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to grab a quick flight out somewhere. Or I could just hitch a ride into Manhattan - and lose myself in the crowd. No, no...whatever I did it would have to be outside of New York. My brain started scrambling for places where mother couldn’t find me. 

Then I heard a soft knock on my door. 

I went to it carefully and very quietly asked, “Hello?”

“It’s me.” Aidon.

I opened the door and he quickly entered the room.

“You have to leave.”  
“I have to leave.”

We both said it at the same time. Then it struck me. “I’m going with you.”

Aidon looked at me cautiously. “You’re sure this is what you want.”

“Yes.” The more I thought about it the more I felt 100% certain this was right. 

“I’m not used to being coerced into kidnapping.” Aidon said.

“This isn’t kidnapping, it’s an...assisted exit.” I countered. 

Aidon nodded, then he turned serious. “We have to move quick. I’ve already ordered a car service - as I planned to fly out on the red-eye anyway. Do you have everything with you - driver’s licence, passport, birth certificate?”

I showed him my wallet. “I don’t have a passport yet, but I have everything else.”

“Good. You’re packed?”

“Pretty much. I didn’t bring a lot Aidon, just enough for the three days I thought I’d be here.”

“That’s alright, once you’re settled we’ll get you sorted out. The car won’t be here for another hour. Stay here and I’ll knock again when it’s time.”

“Aidon, my mother -”

“She’s not here. She left with Hestia and your grandmother.”

“Helena?” 

Aidon rolled his eyes. “Her and Zeus are hashing it out in his office.”

By his tone, I could assume that this was going to lead to some sort of reconciliation. From what I understood it inevitably did - my father would cheat, she would get angry, they would have a discussion, father would behave (for a while, at least), and Helena would calm down. 

“So the coast is clear?” The tone of my voice rose with hope. I was doing this. It was going to happen.

“If we move quickly and quietly, yes. Now sit tight, and don’t make any noise. Helena is not our ally in this. I don’t even think your father would approve - entirely. Don’t raise any suspicions.”

Aidon left, and I decided the best plan would be to turn out my lights and make it appear that I had gone to bed. I was almost asleep when I heard the soft knock on my door again. “It’s time.” Aidon whispered. 

I grabbed my things and we quietly made our way downstairs to the front door. My heart was racing, but the taste of anxiousness was noticeably absent. Every fiber of my being felt that I was making the right decision for me, damn the consequences. The driver helped put my bag in the trunk and Aidon held the door for me. Suddenly a light came on in my father’s office and we both froze. Before I could scramble into the back seat, father peered out from one of the curtains. His face was exceptionally passive, then he began to nod. Then he looked to Aidon and a strange moment passed between them. Father jerked his head to the side, as if to indicate to the both of us to get moving, and closed the curtain. 

“What was that about?” I asked Aidon as he joined me in the back seat. 

“Nothing.” Aidon kept his eyes focused on the front. “Alright then - LaGuardia please, and step on it.”


	11. Week One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone gets acclimated to Baton Rouge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay everyone! I had to think carefully about how I was going to proceed in the next little bit. We can't continue exactly as before because things are going to start ramping up. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading!

The nature of my tale changes somewhat at this point. The following events all occurred between October and December, so beginning with “When I was 18” and continuing it in a series of parts seems rather odd. Everything with Aidon has been a series of culminating events, and here begins the part where it all came together. What took years to build momentum suddenly turned into a light speed race towards an unknown ending. 

The first few days in Baton Rouge were a demonstration of sensory overload. From the culture shock, to the mundane details such as opening up bank accounts and meeting with admissions at LSU, to essentially taking over Aidon’s guest room and making it my own, it left me completely exhausted and overwhelmed. Small little doubts started creeping into my periphery, and on the fourth day I had a complete meltdown in Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Thankfully, Aidon had enough sense to drag me out and sit me down for a cup of coffee. 

“Persephone?” He said my name with gentle concern. 

“I’m okay. I’m okay. Or at least, I will be. I’m just...buzzing with so many thoughts and feelings. How am I going to do this? Will I even get into LSU? How much longer before I let mother know I’m here? Can I EVER tell her I’m here? What will I do for work? Do I have the finances for this? I’ve never lived on my own, can I do this? What if I completely fuck this up?-”

“Persephone, stop.” Aidon grabbed my shoulders. “Just, breathe. Prioritize. What is one small thing you can do right this moment? A simple task that you can check off and be done with.”

I gave it some consideration before continuing. “I would like to get a library card.”

“Then let’s go to a library and get you a library card.” 

Gradually I realized that if I organized everything in my day as a list of small things to accomplish, then I could devote proper head space to those larger questions (namely how on earth would I ever contact my mother). I knew that at some point I was going to have to make an exceptionally unpleasant phone call. The few months of therapy I was in taught me that putting off the inevitable was never a good plan of action, but taking time to thoroughly think through procedure was acceptable. The looming question though was how long was too long? This was, after all, the woman who could hold eighteen year grudges. The idea of months, rather than weeks seemed to be my only option; I had to be firmly ensconced in school. With nothing to do other than be Aidon’s guest, I would be subject to immense pressure to return home - something I knew could not happen. I had one shot at independence, and this was it. I had to prove to my mother that I could exist outside of her sphere of influence.

By the end of my first week I was starting to explore my surroundings a bit more; I had a transit pass in my hot little hands, and I made more lists of things I’d like to visit once my tasks were complete. Because my decision was incredibly sudden, Aidon had not been able to host as he thought he should. In the moments he could steal away from the office he was an incredibly attentive and patient guide, and we easily slipped back into the casualness that marked our early friendship. The dynamic had changed somewhat though; it wasn’t as much the ‘mentor and student’ relationship as it used to be. Aidon spoke to me on equal terms. Our conversations would revolve around work (his obviously, as I didn’t have a job at this point), topical subjects, and the mundane. Not once did he belittle or undermine anything I had to say, and I found that quite pleasing. 

“It feels so odd to have my opinion considered worthy.” I noted one evening at dinner.

“Your mother never did so?”

“Rarely, and only when I agreed with her. I made a stand once, about inviting father to come visit, but on reflection I think that she had her own little agenda in mind if he had come. I’m beginning to sense that my mother, despite appearances, does nothing irrationally. Every action or inaction has a purpose.”

“Very much so. When she has a goal in mind Demi can be single-minded in her pursuit of it. It is her greatest strength and also her greatest weakness. The flaw is that she is not even-tempered.”

“No. Her emotions rule the day. I hope I can avoid that fate.” I said quietly.

“Do you envision yourself as a copy of your mother?” Aidon pointedly asked. 

“Well, it is how I was always perceived back home. Demi and Cora, attached at the hip, both a little prone to hysterics. I never spoke but to agree with mother, because I didn’t dare. It was a natural assumption to make, I suppose. Even after the incident. Laramie is much smaller than Baton Rouge, and word traveled fast that our fight was the 'inevitable clash between two similar minds'."

“I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“The slap, or the inability to express my own opinion?” 

“Both. Can I clear up something up for you?” Aidon’s gaze focused squarely on me. I swallowed nervously, but nodded for him to continue. “You are not your mother, Persephone. You are your own person. With your own thoughts and opinions. Never be afraid to express them, especially around me. I value what you have to say. In fact, I value it so much that you have become one of my favourite people.”

I could feel the blush burning across my cheeks. High praise from a man not prone to giving out much in the way of affirmations. In our email correspondence Aidon made it clear he was not in the business of flattering egos. He would give credit and praise only when and where it was due. To know that I was one of his ‘favourite people’ made my heart soar. It also added fuel to a flame that was rekindled on my father’s patio. One that I was still quite confused about…

“Thank you.” I replied simply. “I’d like you to know I feel the same way - in that you’re one of my favourite people too.” I quickly added. 

His smile was soft, but a warm light filled his eyes. “I’m very glad of it.”

We sat there for a moment, grinning like idiots, until Aidon’s eyebrow quirked indicating a change of subject. “I have managed to secure the next week off. Is there anything in and around Baton Rouge you have not explored yet, but would like to see?”

“As a matter of fact…” I pulled out my long list of things I wanted to do, and watched with a somewhat sadistic glee when Aidon realized that I was going to run him off his feet.


	12. Weeks Three and Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Persephone settles in, she notices that moments between her and Aidon are getting more and more awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovelies!
> 
> Thank you all for being very patient, sticking around, and continuing to read.
> 
> The last two months have been rather hectic - I ended a temporary contract which made my work situation uncertain, and it's been chaotic to get things going again. Also, I struggled with writers block. I felt that I wrote Persephone and Aidon into a spot and I had no clue how to get them out of it again. The solution is a couple of angsty chapters that should culminate in the resolution many of you are looking for. They will not be peak writing, but I'm trying to work my way through the hole I wrote myself into.
> 
> I have noted all of your lovely kudos and comments (some I'm answering soon).

About the mid-week point on the third week he asked if I had the evening free. I shot him a pointed look which garnered a rare laugh. “It’s a habit, alright? Anyway, I ask because Edie would like to meet you.”

Aidon explained on the flight down that he no longer worked for the District Attorney, but started his own little law office. His frustrations with getting nowhere in the system had led to him to start hating the profession, and it was an old college buddy - Edie - who came to the rescue. She had recently left her high profile law firm for similar reasons, and wanted a partner to start a practice with her. So the two of them found some office space in downtown Baton Rouge and started up their little venture. After a couple of years it had become quite a going concern. 

“Sure!” I replied eagerly. “I’d like to meet her too.”

We met in a small diner not far from the office. From the moment she walked in the door I liked her, and felt at ease. Edie - short for Enodia - in some ways is your typical southern woman; exceptionally put together, unfailingly polite (even when sassing you), and very classical in her movements. However, those in her deepest confidence know her to be bitingly sarcastic and terribly blunt. That first meeting I felt quite under-prepared and rather inferior to her ease and style, but she let off a wide smile as soon as she sat down. 

“You must be Persephone!” She reached for my hand, and her shake was quite firm and welcoming. “Aidon has told me a lot about you. Good grief child, is he feeding you?”

I looked over at Aidon with some concern, only to find him rolling his eyes. “Yes Edie, I’m feeding her.”

“Well it sure doesn’t look like it. No offense intended child, but you look like a cat that’s been through a wringer.”

“I’ve had a rough start to things” I replied.

“I bet you have.” Edie spoke softly. “Have you done anything about that?”

“Pardon?” 

“You know, stress relief - massage, spa day, hair cut, shopping, something to distract you even for a moment. And female company. Hanging around with this old bag o’ bones sure as hell doesn’t do much for a sour disposition.” Edie rattled away.

“Thanks, Edie.” Aidon snarked. 

“You’re a miserable sack o’ shit most days, but we love you for it anyway, right Persephone?”

I started to laugh. Then Edie started to laugh. Soon there were tears running down my eyes. It was my first full laugh in what seemed like forever. Aidon soon cracked a grin, then a small chuckle. “Alright, if you ladies are done laughing at my expense what would you like to order?”

Edie and I hit it off immediately. She mentioned that she had a niece, just a year older than me, who was attending LSU and if it wasn’t too much she’d like to arrange for the three of us to go shopping. “Maybe she could bring a friend or two - a way to meet some people your own age?”

I was agreeable - it would be nice to meet some people before starting classes in the winter session. “Thank you. I...I was a little concerned how I was going to meet people here. I only know Aidon, and I can’t take him away from the office forever.”

“Oh you’ll make lots of friends of here Persephone. Has Aidon mentioned the idea we came up with?”

I saw his eyes go wide, and Edie realized that she had overstepped something. “Oh. He didn’t. Well, too late now I guess. But I’ll let him talk about it.”

I turned to Aidon. “What idea?”

“Well...it’s going to be a couple of months before you can start school, and I know that laying around watching TV and going to the library can only go so far, so Edie and I discussed the possibility - and only if you want to - of hiring you on as a file clerk for us.”

“Umm...ok. But I’ve never done anything like that.” I mumbled over a piece of garlic bread. 

“Oh it’s easy,” Edie remarked. “We essentially need someone who can type, put files into alphabetical order, and make coffee.”

“A secretary?”

“Not quite.” Aidon added. “We have one, but as our caseload has increased so has her workload. We just need someone about 15-20 hours a week to clean up after us and make sure we don’t lose important documents. It’s not a great job but-”

“I’ll do it!” Trying to find meaningful employment was one of my concerns. I only had certain marketable skills, and looking for work was a daunting prospect. “But, having me work for you won’t be weird?” I asked Aidon. 

“Not at all. I think you’ll find yourself working more with Thane and Narcisse - our paralegals.” As he mentioned their names, Edie made a sour face. “They’re not that bad Edie.” Aidon grinned. 

Edie turned to face me. “They’re good paralegals but completely disreputable men. If you have any trouble with them you come see me.” She patted my hand.

Aidon continued, “Thane and Narcisse are twins. Excellent paralegals. Thane is, admittedly, a little handsy with women, but he does know the meaning of the word ‘no’, and Narcisse is harmless.”

“About as harmless as a fox in a henhouse.” Edie scoffed. 

“I’ll get training right?” I was concerned that I would screw this up. 

“Of course!” Edie exclaimed. “We’ll have Moira handle it. She’s our office assistant.”

“So that’s settled.” Aidon said, with a slight smile. He exchanged a glance with Edie, who returned a look akin to asking for patience. 

“When do I start?” I asked, excited and nervous about my new position.

“How about next week?” Aidon offered. “Give you some time to settle in a bit more, and get all your applications in for school.”

That was a headache in and of itself. Louisiana State University was not making a late application easy for me. Besides tracking down my SAT scores and transcripts from the boarding school, there were substantial hurdles because I was very late for winter term acceptance. Aidon, much to my discontent, was using his influence as an alumnus (and the influence of his pocket book) to help me clear the hurdles. It felt so wrong to be playing the system; that I was getting ahead on the merits of those around me rather than on my own. “I’ll gladly game the system for you, until you start classes. Then sink or swim on your own, little one.” Aidon had told me. 

Edie and I made arrangements to meet for a little “R&R”. She arrived promptly that Saturday morning with two girls in tow. “This is Tisi and Meg. Tisi is my niece, and Meg is her friend.” I shook their hands, and hoped we would hit it off. They were exceptionally friendly, and keen to hear everything about my life back home. I found that talking about it to them wasn’t as painful as I thought it would be. Tisi and Meg were engaged listeners, and almost seemed enthusiastic about some of my hobbies. 

“Oh wow. I’d love to see you ride sometime.” Meg trilled. “I’m terrified of being on a horse, but I love watching others do it.”

Edie, Tisi, and Meg took it upon themselves to kit me out with an entirely new wardrobe. “I snagged Aidon’s credit card, so feel free to splurge.” Edie laughed. I commented on how I felt rather guilty spending his money, and that I had enough savings of my own to shop for clothes, but the three ladies would hear nothing of it. “Aidon specifically told us to make sure you had everything you needed. Besides, this is about the last time you’ll find him opening his wallet, so take advantage of it!” Tisi ribbed me.

When I got back to Aidon’s that evening he marvelled a bit at the number of bags. “Is all this really necessary?”

“The world just simply isn’t fair to us darling.” Edie shouted down the hall as she helped me carry bags into my room. “Men can graduate, get married, and die in the same suit. With women it’s a bit more complicated.”

“Luce never had this many clothes.” He commented. 

“Because Luce didn’t know how to dress. Besides, it’s not like she ever kept her clothes on long enough to wear them out anyway.” Edie fired back.

“Fair point” Aidon shrugged. “Did you have a good day?” He directed the question to me specifically.

“Yeah, actually. I don’t think I’ve ever seen three women destroy a clothing store that thoroughly before, and it was really weird being their guinea pig fashion wise, but they helped me out a lot. Not going to lie though, what you call ‘winter fashion’ down here wouldn’t even pass for the warmest day of spring back home. That in itself is going to be an adjustment.”

Aidon laughed. “The first winter here isn’t going to be the problem. Your first summer is.”

“That bad?” I grinned.

“You have no idea. I was in a constant sweat from mid-March through to October.”

“That sounds...pleasant.” I grimaced. 

“Alright then girl,” Edie barged back into the living room, “you’re all set up, Tisi and Meg are going to take you down to the salon tomorrow morning for a nice haircut, you’re booked in with my RMT in the afternoon, and then…” she cut to Tisi who suddenly got a little shy. 

“Well, Meg and I were wondering if you wanted to join us Monday night. The Students Union is hosting a games night - it’s kind of cheesy, but…”

“I’d love to!” I cut Tisi off. Everyone got a chuckle out of my enthusiasm, and I was little embarrassed. “Sorry about that. I mean, I’d love to go as long as it’s okay with-”

“Persephone, you’re 18. You don’t have to ask me permission to do anything.” Aidon cut me off. 

It was a strange sensation knowing that I had the freedom to come and go as I pleased, something I was still working on being accustomed to. Aidon had no issue with me doing whatever I wanted.

“Ok. Then I’m game.”

“Great!” Meg replied. “We’ll finalize the details tomorrow.”

Edie and the girls left, and I breathed out a sigh I didn’t even know I was holding in. Aidon raised a brow, and I laughed. “I like them. Really. But I’m not used to being around that many women all at once. It’s a bit...much.”

“It doesn’t help that Edie and Tisi are cut from the same cloth, and Meg is similar again.”

“They treat everything as a mission” I replied. “It’s all go, and very little stop.”

“Agreed. But you had a good day?” Aidon asked.

“Yes. Very good, but I am ready for a nap.”

The moment shouldn’t have been awkward; I should have walked to my room, laid down, and promptly fallen asleep. However, the moment had a strange tension. A small, deep seated part of me wanted to be bold - take his hand and lead him down the hall, scene fades to black, just like the movies. These small beats in time were becoming more and more frequent over the three weeks I had been there. Comings and going were the worst; as if there should be another part of the equation but neither of us were equipped to make the first step. 

Lord knows in those moments I wondered what it would be like to kiss him. And just as I thought I had mustered enough courage to act on impulse, all the reasons why I shouldn’t do it came rushing back. The age difference, the fact that at no time had Aidon indicated we were more than friends (or even had the potential to be more). Yes, there was that night on my father’s patio, but maybe I was overworking that situation - just as I had overworked it in my head when I was younger. Perhaps I only _thought_ he was going to kiss me. 

“Yeah. Well. Nap.” I broke the weird tension by walking to my room. 

 

**Week Six**

 

Once I started working, it didn’t take long for a routine to be established. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 12:00-5:00pm I would work at the office. Moira - a fantastically cryptic, linguistically incomprehensible, yet amazingly efficient cajun woman had trained me in the basics of legal office work. I would not say that I had developed a friendship with her, but more of an understanding - do the work, respond politely, and don’t ask too many questions.

Thane and Narcisse, the paralegals/investigators, who saw me more as a little sibling than a potential catch, took it upon themselves to “teach me” the finer points of navigating the dating pool. Many afternoons were spent with them regaling me of their conquests, and that I should be using them as examples of “how men should treat a lady”. I never took them seriously, and that was never their intent either. Both men were not serious about any of the women they dated, but I will give them credit in the fact that they openly presented themselves that way. Incredibly handsome, and each with a unique and complementary personality, Thane and Narcisse were the perfect wingmen for each other. Thane was more flippant and carefree - a serial dater who made no effort to hide who he was. Narcisse was a bit more cautious and guarded, cultivating the “philosopher” vibe, but again never hiding the fact that he was not willing to settle down. Of the two Narcisse was the most dangerous; every woman wanted him to settle and choose her. You had your fun with Thane, you could fall in love with Narcisse. 

On my first day in the office Edie took it upon herself to ‘lay down the law’ as it were with regards to me and how Thane and Narcisse should behave. However, the two made it very clear from the get go that I was ‘not their type’.

“‘Naw girl. I don’t do farm fresh.” Thane replied. “You cute, but a little young.”

“Besides, doesn’t the boss man-” Narcisse was interrupted by a stern look from Edie. 

“Nevermind that. Keep that information to yourself.” Edie snapped. 

My curiosity was, nonetheless, piqued. I spent many an afternoon trying to pump Narcisse for information, but I was a rookie dealing with someone who did part time investigations for a living. All attempts were futile. “Cute, but futile.” Narcisse would add.

In Tisi and Meg I found great friends, and they slowly introduced me to their larger circle. I was gradually finding a place within their group; grateful that my apparent naivety was not going to be an issue. It helped that most of the group were freshmen and sophomores, and they included me as another of the herd - regardless of the fact I wouldn’t be starting for a few more weeks. 

I knew that there were a couple of boys in the group interested in me. Perhaps being a bit older made me more aware of their interest, perhaps it was the fact that most of them had worked out the awkwardness of approach, but I felt more confident in my ability to determine the difference between “just being nice” compared to “I’m being nice because I’m interested.” For the first little bit I could make excuses about being too new and very focused on settling in, but I was reminded that kind of evasion would not last forever.

“You’re going to have to find different ways to let them down, Seph”. Tisi remarked one evening (I should note that “Persephone” was deemed rather wordy, so most of the group started calling me Seph).

I wrinkled my nose. “I know, but I don’t want to hurt their feelings. They’re very sweet, but I’m not even remotely interested in dating.” 

Meg smirked, “Interested in dating, or interested in dating _them_?”

“Umm...both ?” I replied, confused where she was heading.

Tisi shot Meg a pointed look and tried to steer the question back. “You mean, like, you feel ill equipped? Because honestly, of the ones interested Perry wouldn’t be a bad choice. He’s very sweet, and there’d be no pressure to move at a certain speed. Aaron would be cool too - and he’s a farm boy so you might have a few things in common.”

“You think that just because I come from the middle of nowhere Wyoming you think I’m going to have things in common with every farm boy across America?” I shot back, a bit more defensively than needed.

“Whoa. I mean no offense,” Tisi held up her hands in protest. “We’re just trying to help. I mean, if you don’t want to date, just tell them so.”

“I think that Seph here is massively conflicted.” Meg sat down right beside me and put a hand on my knee. “One on hand she’s hopelessly clueless and is terrified of dating and men, despite the fact that she seems to know exactly what she’s about. On the other, she is pining for the one man she thinks she can’t have - willfully blind to the fact that he’s sitting in his office running the exact same thoughts in his head.” Her tone was patronizing, at best. 

“What?!" She couldn’t possibly be talking about Aidon, could she?

Tisi sighed, rolled her eyes, and kicked Meg out of the spot beside me. “Seph, how do you feel about Aidon?”

 _The_ question. One I had been avoiding. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure I could give an answer. Aidon was many things to me; confidant, guide, instructor, and foremost a friend. I felt more than friendship, but was it love? Could I trust that what I felt was more than an infatuation, more than instinct? I wanted to act on those feelings, on my curiosity, but there was so much in the way. Above all, I couldn’t risk damaging the friendship we shared. Aidon might not be the only thing keeping me tethered to this new life I was forging for myself, but he was certainly the strongest link.

“I...I don’t understand.” I tried to dodge. “I mean, he’s my friend - and a long time friend of my father’s for sure - but are you implying that…”

“Yes.” Tisi said calmly. “I’m asking if you have those kind of feelings for Aidon.”

I could feel the heat of my blush radiating off my skin. “You make it sound like I’m a little girl. If I’m having ‘womanly feelings’”. I laughed a bit, hoping to ease the tension, and to my relief Tisi and Meg laughed with me. Then it stopped, and the two were waiting for an answer. “It’s...awkward. There have been these moments lately, where it’s like we’re both waiting to do something but neither of us knows what. I won’t lie - I’m immensely drawn to him. There was a moment, back at my father’s, where I thought he was going to kiss me. Or I was going to kiss him? I don’t know...everything involving Aidon is so complicated. He’s so many years older than me, and I’ve caught myself ‘idealizing’ and reading more into our friendship in the past. It’s very….fraught.”

Tisi and Meg nodded to each other in some unknown comprehension. “We’re going to tell you something that we heard from Edie.” Meg began. “Well, not really,” Tisi added, “more of a hint.”

“And that would be...?” 

“Talk to Aidon. About this. Sooner than later.” Meg finished.


	13. Week Nine Pt.1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Persephone and Edie have a little heart to heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> Ok. It's been awhile. And believe me I've been trying, but the muse left and got buried in a million other things. 
> 
> I've been searching for a way to wrap up what I feel is "Part One" of this little saga, before we go back and revisit Persephone's family and the chaos they can stir up. I hope this chapter, and the one that follows don't feel too rushed, or too forced. I know some of you may have wished for more angst, but sometimes you just have to cut to the chase. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Pure routine was the rule of the day; work, social activities with the group of friends, and occasional forays to the library. I had received my conditional acceptance to LSU for the winter term, so I was allowed to use campus amenities. Under Aaron and Tisi’s advice I started to use the gyms and pools available to me as a way of letting off steam. 

I was also getting a bit better at working around my social group. The truth is a powerful weapon when used correctly, and I found that sitting down with my potential suitors and explaining a bit about myself, my background, and a touch of my situation without the gory details went a long way in getting them to back down. I wasn’t entirely sure if they respected it, or were glad to have dodged a “crazy bullet”, but it got them to stop and that was my singular goal. 

I mulled over what Tisi and Meg said. I knew what they were implying; that Aidon had the same conflicted feelings that I had, but I couldn’t see it. That, or Aidon was just infinitely better at hiding it than I was. The more I got to know him, especially since we occupied close physical quarters, the more I realized that he had a tight leash on his emotions. Knowing what I knew of his past, that control was not so much a part of his nature as a learned behaviour necessary to function in the world of law and in our extended and dysfunctional family. 

But at night, I would drive myself to distraction thinking about what lay beneath that cool, collected exterior. Aidon, underneath the surface, was fire and passion. I had seen the cracks, and I could not stop myself my from wondering what would happen if he were to just...let go. 

Tisi, Meg, myself, and another girl in our group - Clara - got to chatting about female pleasure one evening when it was just the four of us out for dinner. Very quickly I realized I was out of my depth; what I thought was scandalous and rather ‘dirty’ was tip of the iceberg as far as they were concerned. 

“You mean you’ve never…?!” Meg look incredulous. 

“Nope. Catholic girls school remember?” I replied.

“And your mom never explained?” Clara asked.

My laugh was bitter. “Oh god no. She would have to acknowledge that I was growing up and becoming my own independent person. That I might one day want to *GASP* date a boy. She truly believed that I should enter the Sisterhood, what with my great empathy and compassion.” 

“I’m so sorry.” Tisi added. From her tone I could tell that she was serious. “One shouldn’t have learn about this from idle gossip.”

“It’s alright. I mean, I know the theory, but I’ve never put any of it into practice. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” I replied kindly. 

Meg’s face lit up. “Oh boy oh boy do I have the books for you!”

The next morning Meg dropped off a large shopping bag full of books. “Don’t worry - they all have fake jacket covers, I had to get them around my mom somehow!” We shared a laugh then I retreated to my room. 

I won’t go into detail here, but needless to say I found everything rather...informative. 

Some of them I wasn’t able to put down. They managed to make their way to work with me, and during my coffee break I would pull my current read out and bury myself in it. Some were straight up how to guides, but others provided valuable insight on the psychology and physiology of human sexuality. Those were the books I was incredibly interested in. 

Thane and Narcisse never bothered me while I was reading, but once I looked up and caught something of a smirk crossing Thane’s face. I made a look as to ask “What is it?” and he just laughed. 

“Oh man. I should tell the boss man what you’re reading. It would drive him right around the bend, by God.”

“You mean, that I’m reading about psychology?” I tried to keep my voice flat, but the particular chapter I was reading was *very* interesting. 

“Ha! You keep telling yourself that. I’m sure ‘The Psychology of Human Emotions’ is a great read, but I’ve never seen any lady flush that shade of pink when reading about how the brain works. Now why don’t you tell little ol’ Thane here what you’re _really_ reading about?”

I slammed my book shut and left the break room to the sound of Thane’s boisterous laughter. 

It was enough of a ruckus that Edie popped her head out of her office to investigate. She noticed the title of my book and gave a little smirk. “I would stop bringing those to the office if I were you. Thane and Narcisse are _all_ too familiar with what’s behind those book jackets. You’ll never hear the end of it.” Then she paused, looked both directions down the hall, and dragged me into her office. 

“What are your plans for Christmas?” She asked hastily. 

The question struck me as so odd and off topic that I fumbled through my answer. “I...I don’t know? Umm maybe we’ll stick around here, or maybe New York, I don’t...really...uh, why did you ask me that?”  
Edie grinned. “So you’re not going home to Wyoming?”

I shook my head furiously. “No. I can’t go back. I’d never be able to leave.”

I didn’t have to explain to Edie what I meant; I had confided in her, and she seemed to understand completely. “Then I think you need to hurry up, make a move, and put everyone out of our collective misery.”

“What?”

Edie examined me for a minute, tsked, and invited me to sit down on her sofa. “You and Aidon have been playing out a strange little dance. One of missed moments, awkward pauses, and inconvenient interruptions - I assume?”

I nodded. At this point it would not have served me well do deny the truth. Edie has no use for, or time, for bullshit. 

“What’s the problem?”

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding, slumping my shoulders in incredulity. “Where do you start? The age difference for one -”

“Bullshit. Age is just a number.” Edie interrupted. I was about to continue before she sushed me. “Yes, it’s a very delicate situation considering how old you are in the present moment, but down the line it won’t matter much. I remember reading once that ‘such unequal matches are made everyday’, but aside from classic literature consider where you live now. Here in Baton Rouge there isn’t a single society marriage where the bride isn’t at least 10 years younger than her groom. There have been plenty, and I do mean _plenty_ of relationships where the age of the lady in question has been, shall we say...in question. As long as nothing improper happened prior to the age of 17 then all is well.”

“Easy for you to say. Why are we even talking about this?! I mean, this is going on the big supposition that he even cares for me in that way-” I was getting riled up and Edie grabbed my arm to shut me down.

“He cares Persephone.” That shut me up pretty quick. “He cares a lot more than you think.”

“He’s never really let on that he...feels that way.” 

“Because he’s terrified. Terrified of scaring you off. Terrified of being a lecherous old man, terrified -”

“Terrified of becoming my father” I finished. 

“Yes.” Edie replied simply. “He’s been out of sorts because you’re driving him to distraction. There you are, a mere three feet separating your living spaces, but this ever widening gulf because neither one of you will just sit down and admit you’re absolutely crazy for the other.”

“But am I?” I wondered aloud. She took my hand and pressed me to continue. “I mean, I don’t know - I constantly question what he could possibly see in me. I’m so naive and inexperienced. And young.”

Edie rolled her eyes. “Yes. Yes you are, but in so many ways so is he. Inexperienced, that is. Can I let you in a little secret?” I nodded and she continued, “Aidon has confided in me from the word go. I was there when he got back from New York a few years ago and he was terrified by the emotions you aroused in him. He had just broken it off with Luce for millionth time, and we had a little heart-to-heart…”

I sat in stunned silence as Edie related what she knew. Aidon was seemingly just as uncomfortable and unsure about everything as I was. And when I made him relate to me his involvement in my parents’ relationship, it was more than he could handle. “He retreated. Quit the DA’s office, and sunk into a depression the likes I had never seen,” countered Edie. “It took us months to convince him to see his therapist.”

“Us?!”

“Moira and I. I’m sure by now you’ve figured out that there’s more to Moira than just answering phones and pushing paper?”

“Yes.” I nodded, “But I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Moira worked for the DA’s office, but prior to that she was owner of a rooming house here in Baton Rouge. Aidon and I lived there while we were at the University. In a lot of ways she’s like a second mother to us. She’s also the only other human being that can make Aidon do things. It’s why he insisted that if our little venture was to get off the ground she had to be the one running it.”

“I see. So you and Moira work together to keep him in check?” I added.

Edie laughed. “Oh heavens no! I can’t _make_ him do shit. I can make suggestions, I can threaten, but when he digs in Lord help us that man is stubborn.”

“Then who is the other per…” I trailed off. No way. Not possible, but when I looked Edie square in the face her expression was all the answer I needed. “Uh-uh. I don’t think I’m that girl.”

“You’re here, aren’t you?” Edie smirked. “I promise you Persephone, no other human being on this planet can spur him to action like you do. The idea of seeing you again is what took him to New York, not your father’s constant carrot-dangling.”

I sat pondering Edie’s words. Apparently, and now thrice-confirmed, the feelings that I didn’t think could be created were already there. Now it was up to me to make a move. I was utterly terrified. 

“What if I screw it up?” I shrank back down, a reflection of the uncertain little girl I still felt myself to be. 

“I really don’t think you can.” Edie took my hands and held them tight. “Yes, the age difference is scary, at first. Yes, you’ll fumble and be awkward but that part gets easier with time. Yes, it will be hard, but - and I will use the cliche here - nothing worth having is easy. You’ll fight, because you’re both very passionate and very stubborn people. But you’ll make up, because neither one wants to let down the other. You’re questioning your feelings because everything around you has said that proper, educated women don’t fall in love at 18. I call bullshit - fall in love when love presents itself, and work the details out as you go. You can’t plan this, and it would be futile to try. Love is messy.”

I nodded my way through Edie’s little speech and tried to get it to sink in. Suddenly, I felt the whole thing rather unfair. “Aidon’s not going to go first is he?” I asked, with a hint of sourness. 

“No. And that’s why I’m intervening with you, because he won’t listen to me. He refuses to make the first move.”

“Because of my age?”

“Because of your age.”

I released a large sigh. “I suppose doing it right now isn’t going to work.”

“Why not?” 

“Um, because it’s work. Clients. Legal things. Paperwork…” I trailed off. 

“I saw you set your shoulders. You have the courage - use it. If you wait ‘until later’ you’ll lose all your nerve. Go! Moira and I will deal with anything if it comes up.” Edie was practically shoving me out the door. “Go!”

Each step down the hall to Aidon’s office was excruciating. I rarely stepped foot into it, insisting that we keep it as professional at work as possible. Now I was going to violate my own rule. Blow it to hell, more like.


	14. Week Nine Pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone takes the initiative and seeks out Aidon, unsure of how to proceed but aware that things have come to a head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two, and penultimate chapter of my "Part One". 
> 
> Again, thank you for reading if you've stuck it out thus far. I'm going to try and keep updating more frequently. If this seems a little rushed, or hasty, then I apologize - it's how I managed to climb out of the hole I felt I was in and I hope I did it in a way that honours the story. 
> 
> Enjoy!

I knocked, and waited for the soft “enter” before going in. The sight of Aidon at his desk always amuses me. While quite meticulous in most aspects of his life, he is not so good at managing paperwork. He is consistently buried behind piles of it, and the whole look is compounded by the fact that he chews his pens when concentrating. If the case is particularly draining, he takes out his contacts and wears his glasses. 

Oh, I think I forgot to note that one of the first things I discovered after moving in was that Aidon’s perfect violet blues weren’t so perfect after all. He was as short-sighted as the day was long. The first morning I woke up to Aidon in the kitchen wearing glasses _almost_ made me laugh. Almost. I managed to rein it in. 

The Aidon I found was not wearing his glasses, but was flipping through his legal pad casually. I nearly lost my nerve when he looked up and smiled. “Well hello! I don’t find you in here too often. Must be of great importance.”

I simply nodded, and took a seat as I steeled myself for the following conversation. I thought, as a gentle opener, I’d aim for some pleasant chatter. “So, um...I was wondering what the plans for Christmas are going to be?”

Aidon continued to grin, but raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “Well I certainly wasn’t going anywhere, but I think you’re about to tell me you’d like to go somewhere…”

I was a bit startled. “Oh. No! No...nothing like that.” My voice squeaked with surprise, and Aidon was unable to control his instinctual response; he leaned in, curious and slightly predatory. And fuck me it was sexy. I tried to control myself. “I was actually hoping you were going to be around for the holidays,” swallowing furiously to relieve the sudden dryness in my mouth, “I really don’t have anywhere else to be, and it sucks to be alone during the holidays.”

He regarded me carefully, and the same unease and tension of all our little ‘moments’ filled the room. I was losing ground. “Aidon…” I choked on the words. I couldn’t make them come out. _I have feelings for you, I think I’m in love with you, but I don’t know what that kind of love feels like, and lord help me I want you to do things to me._ “I...don’t...I can’t begin to...” I was a faltering mess. 

I am not sure when he came out from behind his desk; I was staring at my hands and wringing them with anxiety. Before I could pull myself together, he was standing in front of me with his hand outstretched. “Come.” Aidon coaxed me out of the chair and led me to the small settee in the corner of his office. When we sat down, I noted that he wasn’t letting go of my hand. But that was all I was staring at - hands entwined on vintage burgundy leather. 

“Persephone,” his voice was gentle and deep, barely above a whisper, “Little one - I need you to look at me.”

Aidon’s free hand came up and he swept away a little tear that had started to form at the corner of my eye. I couldn’t help but lean into the warmth of him, and close my eyes for an instant. “Persephone,” he continued, “I really do need you to look at me love.”

My eyes snapped open when he called me love.

His hand dropped, and clasped against the other - the one holding mine ever so tight. He took that hand of mine, and pressed it against his lips. “I love you. I’ve never struggled with that emotion, but god knows I’ve struggled with everything else. I don’t expect you to answer. I don’t even expect you to feel as deeply for me as I feel about you. But given a chance, I’d like to see if you do.

I knew I had to answer, and it came out in a jumble. “But I know nothing. I don’t know anything about...anything!” It was more angsty and fraught than I would have wished.

Aidon chuckled under his breath, “Remember; a man can be as patient and as subtle as he chooses. Perhaps I played my cards a little too close to my chest, but I was being overly cautious. The last thing I wanted to do was scare you away.”

“You’d never scare me away.” I spoke, with a childlike solemness. Aware of my tone, I worked to continue. “I was terrified you wouldn’t want to...with me. I’m so inexperienced at all of this.” 

Aidon drew me closer to him, and by pure instinct I placed my head on his shoulder. “I think you and I have very similar fears, little one. So, let me say my peace; I’m here, if or when you want me. No pressure. No conditions.”

“I want you.” It came out so easily, so effortlessly, that I found my voice to continue. “I have no idea what it _is_ I want, I have no idea how to go about this, but I do know that I want something with you. Or, at least, I want to try.”

I wish I could describe my first kiss as either a funny and awkward moment, or as a slow and tensioned draw of two souls coming together. I think it would make for great literary prose, but I’m sorry to disappoint. What I can say is this though; my senses were full of him. I could smell his aftershave, feel the crispness of his shirt in my hands as I used his shoulders to steady myself, and taste the mix of bourbon and mint on his tongue when I opened to let him in. My eyes were closed, but in my mind’s eye could see his hands on my body as I felt them glide over my back to support me. We broke only to breathe, then promptly resumed drawing and giving life to each other. 

Or, at least that is how it felt to me. 

At long last, he pulled back and my lips tingled at the loss. With my forehead pressed against his I took long breaths to steady myself, and discovered in a rather...awkward way that I was sitting in Aidon’s lap. My cheeks started to burn with the realization.

He laughed, then began kiss my neck around my ear. “You will always lead in this Persephone. Your pace is my pace. Say the word and I will stop.”

But I couldn’t. Everything felt so good. Too good. Instinct took over, along with the urge to move my hips. Aidon threw his head back with a hiss. “Gods, this is too much. Too much.” However, he kept pace with my movements. His hands travelled down until they grasped me firmly by the bottom. We resumed our kisses with fevered intensity. It was only when I started grasping at clothes in desperate purchase to be rid of them that he stopped me. 

“No little one.” Aidon drew back. In the pause, I noted that his eyes were darker than I had ever seen them; a shade a violet so rich and deep that it has no name. “Not here. Not now.”

“But why?” The plea was petulant, and considerably needy for a young woman who only moments before had blushed at the thought of an erection brushing her leg. 

Aidon’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and I felt my own want pool within me. “Because when I do take you, I don’t want an audience. I don’t want to be conspicuous. I want to see all of you, hear all of you, and feel all of you.” He kissed his way up my neck, fueling the fire. “I don’t want you to be afraid to scream.”

“Oh gods.” I shuddered.

“That’s the idea, Persephone.” 

We stilled, and took the time to regain a sense of composure. “Not exactly how I thought my first kiss would go.” I attempted humour as a path to benign conversation.

“First, and not last, I hope.” Aidon resumed holding my hand as I slid back to sit across, rather than on him. 

“No. Not last.” With the worst of the tension now broken, I could continue without fear. The anxiety was still there, but manageable. “Aidon, if I were older, if I had been able to be a normal teenager with typically dysfunctional parents and able to sneak out to ‘be with boys’ then maybe I could do this a lot better, maybe I would know how to find the right words.”

“I’m as inexperienced as you are little one.” Aidon was using his thumb to rub little circles across my hand, a soothing gesture with the desired effect. Before I could counter, he continued. “Don’t mistake my relationship with Luce as love. I thought it was at first, but those jets cooled quickly. From then on in we were just convenient for the other. You’re the first woman I’ve ever loved. And because there's more to this than sex, and I’m just as clueless as you are.”

I blushed at the thought, and caught myself doing so. “See, I can’t even hear you talk about sex without blushing.”

“And I hope you never stop doing so. I hope for so many things Persephone. I want be present for all of it; you’re going to continue to grow and shape yourself as a person and I want to be along for the ride. Never think for a minute that it’s only the Persephone here right now that I’m in love with. It’s all of you - past, present, and future.”

I was silent. He was so confident he loved me, but could I return it? Was what I felt for him love? 

“Persephone?” 

“How do you know you love me?”

An understanding dawned on Aidon’s face. He took my hand as before and kissed it just the same, an action I was beginning to hope he’d do for as long as we were together. “Knowledge has nothing to do with this. It has to be something you feel. But I was made keenly aware of it the night you severed communication with me. I broke. Had I felt nothing more than friendship towards you it would have stung, but I would have been able to move forward. The idea of not being able to communicate with you wrecked me; believing you didn’t want me - or worse, hated me - had me at the most miserable point I had been in my entire life. Then I panicked. Because I had to admit I had fallen in love with a sixteen year old girl.”

Listening to Aidon talk made me a little more aware of the emotions and thoughts swirling in my head. The period of radio silence had crushed me as well, but I needed it to understand that the adults in my life were not idols to be worshipped. “I thought you were angry with me.”

Aidon knew I was referring back to our meeting in New York. “I know. I thought you were angry with me.”

Again, I rested my head on his shoulder. Rather than speaking I closed my eyes and tried to exist in the moment. I was struck by the idea of a life without Aidon - no one to gently chide me when I was being an idiot, no one to laugh at my stupid jokes, and all those similar little thoughts right down to the mundane ‘he wouldn’t be there to have breakfast with’. And in a moment of startling clarity, I could see my way forward.

I raised my head to look at him properly. I believed that he deserved to have my full and complete attention to hear what I had to say. Then, for the second time in my life I kissed a man and this time I tried to imbue in it all the feelings that have no words. “I love you. I’ve loved you since I was a little girl.” I whispered against his lips, then went in for my third, fourth, and fifth kisses. There was a freedom in saying it, a massive _finally_ from every sinew in my body. 

Thinking back, I’m ashamed in some ways at how overwrought I made everything. I tried to apply reason and logic to a situation that is devoid of the two. There’s nothing logical about an 18 year old girl declaring her love for a 35 year old man. There’s nothing rational about a 16 year old having conversations with a grown man that leave both parties devastated. Teenage infatuation doesn’t become the love of your life until suddenly, one day, it does. And there is no point in trying to think of the why. Edie was correct in that my initial hang-up was some sense of “But 18 year olds don’t fall in love”. Once I could let that go the dam burst. Then loving Aidon became the easiest and hardest thing in my life.


	15. Week Nine Pt.3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Persephone and Aidon take their newly professed love into new and uncharted territory...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long and slow burn, but here we are. 
> 
> I don't typically write smut. It's a weird balancing act, especially writing in the first person, between getting too technical, too pornographic, and too much like a bad harlequin romance. 
> 
> So, here's my best attempt. It might be garbage fire, it might not. Only you can decide. 
> 
> If you're too young to read about sex, or ill-equipped to deal with it, I suggest waiting until the next chapter is up.

We lost track of time in Aidon’s office. We didn’t speak much; instead we alternated between companionable silence, moments of intimacy, and dozing off. 

Not those kind of moments of intimacy. Get your head out of the gutter. 

It was close to 6pm when Moira knocked on the door to inform us she was leaving for the day, and if we were staying it was up to us to close up. Her only comment on finding the two of us curled up on the settee was a gentle, all-knowing smile. I felt Aidon nod in confirmation and shift his legs in such a way that I knew he was intending to move. 

“Well little one, maybe we should take this home.”

I released a soft murmur in agreement, but didn’t make any changes to my posture. I was sitting in Aidon’s lap with my head resting against his shoulder. He chuckled, deep and low, and suddenly I was airborne. “I would carry you home if I could, but I can’t manage you and my briefcase.”

“Bah, weakness.” I muttered in jest. “Maybe I should find me someone who can do both.”

“Maybe, but I’ll wager he wouldn’t feel the way about you that I do.” Aidon whispered as he let me down. 

Not wanting to break contact just yet, I remained as close as I could - hanging onto his shoulders and letting myself slide down his body. Greedy, I went in for one final kiss, but discovered quickly the height differential made it difficult. With a full laugh, Aidon bent down to oblige me. We lingered, as if learning and memorizing all the little mechanical adjustments needed to fit together. 

“Do you think we’ll ever get enough of this?” I asked quietly once we had broken apart. 

“God I hope not. But I suppose at some point we’ll have to try and function like other people.” 

“Agreed. Excessive PDA is a bit much.” I pulled a sour face. 

“PD...A?” Aidon looked puzzled. 

“Public Displays of Affection. I’m not a fan.”

“I’m old, help me out - are we talking about holding hands, or -” Aidon drew closer again, “...other things, that you don’t approve of?”

I always thought it was a trope, falling weak at the knees in the arms of a man, but discovered that for the trope to exist there had to be a basis in fact. I’ll admit - I swooned. “Other things.” I said, swallowing carefully. 

He gave me a little squeeze before letting go to grab his briefcase. “That’s good. Because I get a little lost sometimes, so it’s good for me to hold an adult’s hand.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh please. You’re the adultiest adult that ever adulted. If anything I need you to hold my hand.” 

Aidon beamed me the largest smile I had ever seen from him. I stood there bemused, waiting for an explanation. “What? What did I say?”

“Just remembering when you last used that turn of phrase. When I look back on it, I think that’s when I knew you were someone worth keeping around.” He took up his coat and gestured towards the door. “Shall we?”

Aidon waited for me to exit his office. While he was locking up I couldn’t fight the compulsion to blurt out. “I had the biggest crush on you when I was younger. Huge. Massive. An infatuation to end all infatuations. That summer in New York, when you told me how old you were, was quite the initial blow to my fragile pubescent heart. But I’m glad I was able to work around it - and that you were willing to hang out with a clueless fifteen year old.”

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Aidon asked, and I nodded. “I knew. I could sense it when I sat down and you started to seize up a bit. At first it was cute, but then -” He stopped suddenly. 

“But then…?”

With a sigh, he continued. “Could you feel it? Even then. This inexplicable pull we have towards each other? I have never felt more comfortable, more safe, or more close with anyone. There was that moment, I couldn’t help it, I closed in-”

“And I thought you were going to kiss me.” I interrupted. 

“I very nearly was. Before I remembered who I was with. Even then I was drawn to you.” Aidon finished.

“Yes. You pulled back, and everything settled.”

“For the best. Earning your friendship first was the path I had to follow. Lord knows it’s been a fraught journey ever since, but I need you to know Persephone that I value your friendship above all others. Whatever happens.”

I took his spare hand in mine. “I’m glad we’re on the same page, Aidon. But I’m not going back on what I said. I love you. I’ve loved you since I was seven, I loved you through all the awkwardness, and I stand here completely in love with you now.” And I meant every word of it.

The look Aidon gave me was pure fire. “And I love you. Now, I’m not sure about what’s on your mind for the evening, but I know that I want to engage in some very non-public displays of affection.” He squeezed my hand and led the way.

******

“Communication is key.” Aidon whispered in my ear, in between breathless kisses. “I need to know what you want. Or don’t want.” He continued on the sofa the same ministrations he had started in his office. First at my pulse points, then further and further down my neck. The sensations were heady, and my thoughts were lost in a fog.

“What if I can’t think?” I asked.

“Mmmm, then I’m likely doing my job.” Aidon spoke as dipped kisses along my collarbone, “But if I’ve crossed a line, you’ll know.” He kept moving lower and lower, until he was at the tops of my breasts. I knew that my blouse was the in the way of his ultimate goal, so I obliged. I started to unbutton it and Aidon drew back. “I intend to savour it this. Now and always.”

I felt a flush creep down my neck, but it was not embarrassment. Instead it was a kind of bashfulness at his apparent worship of my body. I tried to duck away from it, but Aidon gently cupped my chin for a kiss. “This gets easier, I promise. It’s all very heightened now, but remember-”.

“I’m in charge.” I echoed his earlier statement. 

“Always.”

I removed my blouse and the sight of me partially clothed in just my bra was apparently enough to inflame him. Aidon pulled me onto his lap, astride as I was earlier, and began to kiss the hollow of my chest. I leaned back to enjoy the sensations, and felt my hips resume those involuntary movements. I wanted more. I needed more. All that came out of my mouth was a keen.

To answer, Aidon moved his hands up my back. As he reached the clasps of my bra he ghosted past and went to my shoulders, all the while kissing his way back up my neck. I made my dissatisfaction known. He chuckled, “Impatient are we?”

Impatience be damned I was on fire. I wanted him everywhere; in me, on me, around me. I took the initiative and unhooked my bra myself. “Clearly someone has to remove this.”

Aidon hissed. “Fuck Me.”

“I thought that was the plan.” I quipped. I had no clue from what depth that came from, but it was enough to get the reaction I wanted. No sooner had it come out of my mouth then Aidon was carrying me to his bedroom; locked into kissing me the whole way. As soon as we hit his bed he fell forward, cradling me. 

“Too many clothes Aidon.” I started pulling at his shirt.

“On it.” He deftly unbuttoned his dress shirt, and in a single smooth motion removed it. Watching his lean muscles flex with such grace fanned my flames. Without bidding I started to trace the outlines of his chest with my fingertips, and follow the little ‘treasure trail’ down to his waistband. Before I could go further he grabbed my hands. “Not yet little one. There’s still much to be done.”

Books, especially on this topic, will only get you so far. Millennia of primal urges bred into each human throughout our known existence serves much better. Hands know where to go. Lips make their way to the pulse points instinctively. The desire to taste and explore lead down obvious paths. And this where I discovered exactly what a well placed nip to a nipple can do for a girl. A raspy “Yes” escaped my throat, and Aidon hummed his approval. 

Gradually, Aidon came up for air. The loss of close, skin-on-skin contact made my nipples taut with want. His kisses and ministrations slowed; we were at a juncture - stop here or keep going. I already had my answer. 

He was still overtop of me, holding my body to his, hands travelling slowly down my back. When he rolled to his side somewhat, I caught his eyes regarding me in that deep, unnameable violet. “Persephone, we ca-”

“Shhh.” I whispered as I brought a finger up to his lips. “More.”

“Too many clothes, Persephone.” Aidon choked out, his voice deep with want.

I guided his hands to waistband of my trousers. “Do the honours, my love.”

Deftly he undid them, and I wiggled out. “Gods above you will be the end of me.” He murmured onto my stomach. Then a sensation I could only conceive of in my wildest dreams washed over my body as Aidon started to kiss his way up my thighs. I couldn’t help myself; I started to squirm, and mewl with pleasure. I tingled from my head to my toes, except for at my core - which was heavy but hollow. 

“Persephone?” Aidon brought himself back up to face me. “Little one?” His hands smoothed over my face. “Look at me.”

I opened my eyes to see him more clearly than I ever had. If I had had any doubt of his feelings for me, those fears would have been immediately banished. He wanted me. I wanted him. We wanted each other. His soft smile seared into my heart. “Do you trust me?” 

Yes. Unequivocally. Forever. “Always.” I leaned up to kiss him, and he returned it with all the feeling he had in his body. 

Then I was naked. The lights were low, but I could see him toss my last barrier across the room. He pulled back and removed what remaining clothes he had before returning to that spot beside me. I started slightly at a brand new sensation - his erection. Knowing that this is why I froze for the briefest of moments, he resumed with his gentle caresses and kisses until my body relaxed. His hands made the journey up from my thighs, until suddenly…

I bucked with a force I didn’t know I had within me. He was using his thumb to stimulate me, and ever so gradually his fingers were working their way inside. Aidon laughed low against my breast, “A little sensitive there?”

“Smart ass.” 

“I could always stop.” Aidon said, between nips and nibbles. 

The hollow weight I felt earlier was replaced with a tight coiling. From my own minimal (and newfound) experience in pleasuring myself I knew I was close to an orgasm, but this was going to be stronger than anything I could do on my own. “Don’t you dare.” I threatened. 

Aidon’s fingers moved faster as my hips began to buck against his hand in a more steady rhythm. I couldn’t help the yips and moans escaping from me as I grabbed anything and everything within my reach to use as leverage. I wanted it faster, harder, deeper. A thought did cross my mind that perhaps this isn’t how virgins are supposed to act in bed, but fuck it - everything felt awesome and I needed more. I could discuss expectations vs. reality later. 

Somewhere in the process I had lost track of him - as in his physical presence near me. It startled me then, when I felt him kissing at my neck. “Come for me, love.”

And come I did. Hard. I still don’t have an accurate way of describing the feelings I get when I orgasm. There are several tropes; fireworks exploding, a great release from the body, feeling like you’re falling, etc… Some of that works, but not quite. It’s like all those allusions but multiplied exponentially. I have theory that sex is just infinitely better, the orgasms are harder, the feelings are intensified, when you’re deeply in love. However, considering that my first person is my forever person I don’t have a way to test the theory. 

Not that you see me complaining though.

What I can say definitively is that for a split second, I feel like I lose consciousness - everything dissolves into black, then comes whooshing back. Something, something, blood flow... When I regained myself, I opened my eyes to the most beautiful sight. Aidon was staring down at me intently with that soft smile of his, cradling my quivering mess in his arms. “If that’s all I see for the rest of my life, I think I can die a happy man.”

“A little dramatic, no?” I gave him a gentle swat with a free hand. “Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion you’re not even close to being done with me.”

His smile turned coy. “Not even by half.” Then seriousness. “You’re sure Persephone?”

I nodded. “I want this. I want you.”

Aidon shifted his position to where he was seated between my legs. Before he could do anything, I raised them up along his flanks; my feet brushing up along his butt. I felt and heard his hum of approval. “So needy.” He laughed. From my position I couldn’t see exactly what he was doing, but I could feel him brushing the tip of his erection up and down my labia. The hollow pit radiating heat across my body was returning, and my hips gave a little jolt towards him. I was expecting another smart ass comment, but instead was met with a thrust, a foreign sense of _fullness_ , and then his lips upon mine. 

The pain I was expecting really wasn’t there. It was more of an uncomfortable feeling of being stuffed, that quickly dissipated into pleasure. Aidon didn’t register the surprised look on my face as such though. He stopped. 

“Little one, are you alright?” He asked, looking...ashamed of himself. 

“Yes. Aidon, I need you to keep moving.” Dear god I needed him to move. 

“I should have warned you-” He was being rather silly about it, so I cut him off with a kiss. The slight change in my position sent shivers down my spine. Aidon suddenly felt _amazing_. I latched my arms around his neck, and pleaded. “Move.”

And move he did. Aidon sat up and brought me with him, and now he was thrusting into me from a kneeling position. I squeezed my legs around his and let my body take over. “Oh….fuck.” I muttered, as I felt the coiling in my core intensify. My hips and his found their natural rhythm and every move took him deeper and deeper into me. 

“Persephone, Persephone, Persephone…” My name became his mantra, breathed onto my skin in hot bursts. Kisses between us were frantic. Then we were falling back, with Aidon shifting again and wrapping his arms under my legs. From here he was able to move faster and harder. Testing my flexibility he kept pushing up until he could put my legs on his shoulders and cradle me. Once there, he achieved his true goal; a free hand to reach down between us. 

His ministrations weren’t for long. “Oh god, I’m coming, I’m COMING!” The orgasm I experienced was so intense, so _shattering_ , that I truly believe I did lose consciousness, not just the sensation of it. When I came to, it was in time to see Aidon lose himself within me.

He fell forward and cupped my face in his hands; kissing me with a ferocity I never knew he possessed. My little aftershocks propelled him on. “Ahh...Ahh...I’m going to come…” and then he rested his head against my shoulder and I felt him buck erratically. This might seem weird, but since I’ve laid it quite bare to this point there’s no point in holding back; feeling Aidon come in me gives me a little thrill. Not quite a full orgasm (unless we have impeccable timing), but a sense of completion - a warm, fuzzy feeling. 

I know. Weird. 

The moments afterward were the veritable calm after the storm. We both laid there, not knowing who was holding whom, each of us peppering the other with little kisses. Once Aidon had gone completely soft it slipped out of me, and I felt a twinge of loss. My whine garnered a chuckle and he kissed the tip of my nose. “Plenty more where that came from, little one.”

“I certainly hope so.” I mumbled against his neck.

Aidon rolled over and brought me with him so that I was able to rest my head on his chest. Hearing his heartbeat and feeling the rise and fall of his chest made everything more present. I had just had sex. For the first time. With Aidon. 

“Not many girls are as lucky as I am, I think.” Of all the thoughts swirling in my head, that was the one I lead with. Classy.

“Oh?” I could sense his curiosity. 

“Well, how many - especially my age - get to say that their first is their last. And that the man in question loved them enough to make sure it was about their pleasure first.”

Aidon was lazily drawing patterns on my back. “Because your pleasure is important to me Persephone. There’s no point in doing this if you’re not enjoying it. Besides, a man’s pleasure is easily attained. Women take a little longer to get there, but it is so much sweeter in the end.”

“Love has nothing to do with it then?” I yawned, feeling drowsy from the exertion. 

“If I was just fucking you, then no. I’d take what I want, and if you got off then all the better. But this is love; everything we give of ourselves should be all the things we want the other to feel.”

I kissed the spot on his chest over his heart. “Profound thoughts, my love.”

“Inspired by profound love, little one.” Aidon’s voice was thick with emotion. 

And there we fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. I know. Highly unrealistic for a first time. But, from experience, and running this past my friends who are currently in or prone to having relationships, not all first times are horrible. If you're with someone who knows what they're about, it's possible to have a good time. 
> 
> At least they didn't come together, right?


End file.
